4 10 1803 https://kccarchives.cvlcollections.org/files/original/17/507/Families-S1.pdf 39153db5a87895bc8fd144a359c2297a PDF Text Text belongings, cattle, and horses to a farm 4 mi. W. lN. of Plains, Ks., which later they bought. In 1925, a son, Jack David was born. Clark and Jack attended school at Plains, Ks. Clark moved to Bethune, Co. and farmed for many years. After being in service during World War 2, Jack attended school in Kansas City, married and moved to Burlington, where he was in the Auto Parts and farming business. David "Bat" Rutter passed away in 1949 and Myrtle moved to Burlington the s'me year. She has enjoyed living in Bur- lington, always having her familyclose by and a host of friends. Her life has been centered around the church and is a charter member of the Burlington Christian Church. She enjoys the Senior Citizens Center and the fellowship with those that attend. Burlington has been good to us and she saYs, "I appreciate you all". by Jack Rutter Susan Rutter. Gottfried Weiss Farm north of Bethune, where we made our home. Dust and dry years were upon us. For the next three years Jack attended Infantry School in Ft. Benning, Ga. and Artillery School in Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. Another baby girl, Amber Kay was born Sept. L2,7952. In 1958 Jack went to work for King Motor Co. and was salesman for 15 years, so we moved to Burlington and built our present home where we now live. Jack was under sheriff for 9 mo. She is presently self-employed as a Building Contractor. Our children were born in Burlington and attended school in Bethune and both graduated from Burlington High School. Susan lives in Liberty, Mo' and has thee children, Chris, Hannah and Asher. Amber lives in Colo. Spgs., and has three children, Tabitha, Deidra, and Tarah. Living and being a part of Burlington has been a real blessing to us through the years. We are charter members of the Burlington Christian Church. Presently both teach and work in the music department, Jack having been a part of the Harmonaires, a male quartet, since being in Burlington. Singing for funerals for Amber Rutter. Hendricks Mortuary and other clubs and churches throughout the states and others, has probably been the highlight of his life. by Mary Rutter is the first daughter and third child of four' of Louie and Cora DeGraffenreid of Ulman, Mo. My father was a farmer and owned real estate in Lake Ozark. My grandfather, Geo. Riley DeGraffenreid was a road construction foreman on the Bagnell Dam. He also owned the White House Hotel built in 1932, which was the first business in Lake Ozark after the building of the Dnm. From Kansas City we moved to Sedan, Kansas where Jack was employed at the Fesler Implement Co. Later we moved to Burlington, Co. where Jack was employed at Sim Hudson Motor Co. Then Jack went into businees with Asa Calvin, which was known as Calvin and Rutter Auto Supply. At this time Jack was in the Army Reserve and was attached to Co. I. Colorado National Guard and served with the unit in Burlington as Company Commander. At this time our first daughter, Susan Carol was born June 18, 1949. She purchased land south of Burlington and in 1952 we bought the RUTTER, MYRTLE V. F581 Myrtle V. Rutter born Dec. 30, 1889 at Brumley, Mo. to Tom and Rosa Bond. One of 10 children they experienced good times and bad times, with many mouths to feed and send to school. Her father was a freighter, that hauled freight by team and wagons from Brumley, to Bagnell, Mo., which was a shipping point on the Osage River. She grew to womanhood in Brumley and operated the telephone office at the time. In 1910 she married David "Bat" Rutter and immediately moved to Pretty Prairie, Ks., where he was employed by Collingwood Grain Co. In 1912' a son was born to them. This young man was no-ed Champ Clark. In 1915, they gathered their family together, and moving their SAILER, CHARLES LESTER F682 Charles Lester Sailer was born April 20, 1898, in Whitewater, Kansas, to Charles L' and Sarah Brooks Sailer. He attended public schools in Kansas. He married Miss Mertie Lattimore, the daughter of James and Leona Logan Lattimore on April 7, 1926. Mr. and Mrs. Sailer were the parents of four children: Wayne, Dean, Marjorie and Vivian. Wayne married the former Shirley Schlickenmayer, and they are the parents of three children: Gary, Gail, and General Dean who served in the U.S. Marines Corps 1951-52. He married the former Ione Lynn, and they are the parents of a son, Bryan. Marjorie is married to Dean Stewart, and they have a daughter, Maridean. Vivian is married to Elmer Jacober, and they are the parents oftwo children: Dale and Beverly Sue. Charles Lester has farmed near Burlington since 1948, when he came here from Kansas and bought his present farm eight miles north. He farms eight hundred acres with wheat his main crop. Mr. Sailer built all the main buildings on his farm and has a comfortable home surrounded by trees. He has engaged in farming all his life, starting on his own in Pratt County, Kansas, in 1.909. In Kansas, he raised wheat, corn, and feed and also had cattle and hogs. His brand is Arrow X. Mr. Sailer has farmed during two dust eras, one in Kansas and one in Colorado. Mr. Sailer is a member of the Farm Bureau, of the Eastern Colorado Wheat Growers Association. and the First Methodist Church. He has known many hardships in his years of farming but has overcome them all with courage and hard work. Mr. Sailer is a creditable addition to the farming industry of Kit Carson County. by Janice Salmans �SALMANS FAMILY F583 Herschel ran the farm and Gene Elsev worked here part-time until 194?. Life on this farm meant happy times as well as hard work. Week-ends were times of social gatherings and meals with neighbors and friends. Some of them were: the Harris', the Clappers, the Pickards, the Brownings, the Burds, the Briggs, the Davises and the Kvestads. They shared meals, attended dances, and played cards. Bert and Roxie Kvestad drove in the yard one day and Bert said "Let's go for a "ride". Herschel inquired if a suitcase was needed but Bert didn't "tink so", they would just buy what they needed along the way! They ended up in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. They had many such times together until 1956 when Roxie becarne very ill. Gwen sat with her in the hospital until her death. Bert acted like and was treated like a grandfather in this family and therefore the mention of him in our story. Many people even thought him to be a family member when in fact he was not. Herschel and Gwen joined the St. Charles Catholic Church in 1964 where Herschel belonged to the Knights of Columbus. He also belonged to the Vona Lions Club and served on the Vona School board for about 12 vears. Gwendolyn belonged to the Vona Worthwhile Homemakers Club and cooked at the it{,.';:r..,.:. Herschel and Gwendolyn Salqrans and sons Gary and Lyndell. March ZO, rg49. Herschel Harold Salmans was born April 10, 1911 in Burdett, Ks. to his parents Walter Wm. and Hattie Sarah Salmans. He was the youngest of 5 children: LoRee Dorthy, 1901, Harry LeRoy, 1905, Irene Leona, 1907, and Lucille Sarah Henrietta, 1909. Herschell grew up in Kansas and was very active in sports at Bazine High School where he graduated in 1930. On Aug. 9, 1939 Herschel married Gwendolyn Laree Riley of Gove, Ks. They lived at Dighton, Ks. and moved on to Jetmore and lived there until 1943 when they bought the C.A. Monroe farm, 5 mi north of Vona, Colo. The house was built around 1919 or later by Mr. Monroe and some of his sons out of sod and was later stuccoed on the outside. When Gwen and Herschel moved into the house you could see the rooffrom the inside and down thru the floor boards to the basement. They made aceiling, and putdown a linoleum on the floor. A neighbor, Mr. Lester Yonts, helped Herschel cut an archway in between the kitchen and a living room, There were only four rooms in the house and they had to carry in all the water they used. On Mar. 20, 1945 their first son, Gary Gail was born weighing 10 lbs. and was delivered by Dr. V.M. Hewitt. Two years Iater on Sept. 9, another son Lyndell Lee, was born, weighing in at 13 lbs. They were both born at home. On the sa-e day Lyndell was born, Herschel and some neighbors, Billy and Roy Hanis and Bert Kvestad were putting up feed when Herschel was bitten by a rattlesnake and taken into Vona to see the doctor. After some cutting and pouring on of kerosene, it was decided to take him to the hospital in Burlington. Wilma Wilkerson (Woller) came out to help Gwen with the children. Gwen's mother Anna Riley was called and told "Herschel is in the hospital and we have a new baby boy!" Vona School. On April 9, 1969 Herschel died of a heart attack. Gwen moved to Stratton and on Mar. 20, 1971 she married Mr. O. C. Malone, in the home of Gary Salmans. In 1964 Gary Salmans had married Diane Werner and they made thier home in Stratton, Co. They had two sons David Dean, 1965 and Michael Marc, 1971. Gary worked at the Foster Lumber Yard, drove a bus for the Stratton School, worked in his own Shamrock Station, and later purchased his garage called Gary's Wrecker Service. In 19?8 Gary was killed in an auto accident, just 3 miles from the farm North of Vona. Diane remarried Al Kloeckner in 1980 and later moved to Mosca, Colorado. In 1966, Lyndell Salmans married Janice Wolkensdorfer and they made their home in Canon City, Colo. where they lived until Herschell Salmans death in 1969, when they moved to the farm North of Vona, and are now living and raising three children. James Jay 1969, Tronette Lee 1972, and Herschell Harold 1975. Lyndell farms and raises wheat and cattle. by Janice Salmans SALMANS WOLKENSDORFER FAMILY F584 Lyndell Lee Salmans was born Sept. 9, L947 at Vona, Colo., to Herschel and Gwendolyn Salmans. Lyndell attended the Vona School for 12 years and graduated in 1965. He was active in all sports and later attended the National Electronics Institute in Denver, Colo. On Nov. 5, 1966, Lyndell was united in marriage to Janice Wolkensdorfer. We moved to Canon City to a farm. This farm belonged to Lyndell's grandfather, Walter Salmans. Lyndell worked those 12 acres parttime and also worked for Canon Con- crete. I worked in a Beauty Salon and in lg6? I purchased in partnership a shop we called "Cut'N'Curl", on Main Street. When Lyndell's father passed away in 1969, we decided to move back to the farm North of Vona, and help his mother. At this time we adopted a son, James Jay born Nov. 1, 1969. Two years later we had a baby girl, Tronette Lee, May L4, L972, born on Mother's Day. On March 5, 19i15, we had our last son, Herschell Harold Salmans, (nnmsd aftet his grandfather). Raising children on the farm can be both very trying and rewarding. It takes a lot of beef, hemburgers, and pizzas to feed them. It's getting harder to accomplish this when a box of cereal at the store is $3.29 and a bushel of wheat is only worth $2.76. Our children attend the Hi Plains Schools, which are consolidated schools. Lyndell belongs to the Vona Lions Club and has served as President of this organization. We are active in the St. Charles Catholic Church in Stratton. From 19?1 to lg?b I owned the Beauty Bonnet Salon in Stratton, and belonged to the National Hairdressers Assn. Lyndell served on the Hi Plains School Board for 5 years. ln1977, Karen Smith of Burlington, wrote a letter to newspapers about the plight of farmers. It stemmed a growing ebb of concern and developed into the organization of the "P.A.A." (Partners in Action for Agriculture). Some of the people involved in the beginning were: Karen & Larry Smith, Sandee & Roland Strobel, Shirley & Vern Bauer, all of Burlington, Florine & Elvin Bauer, Seibert Patsy & Mike Eisenbart, Stratton, Janice & Lyndell Salmans, Vona, Carolyn & Darreld Dizmang, Mary & Phil Schlnmal, Ben Duell, all of Goodland, Ks. At one meeting we held in Goodland, over 1,200 people attended, including Newspeople from Radio and Television J. Evans Goulding, Colo. Commissioner of Agriculture, Kansas State Senator, Richard Gannon, Mrs. Frances Carper, a representative ofSenator Floyd Haskell, were among the guest speakers. "Farmers Seek Immediate Relief'was in the headlines, and our theme was "We farmers as business people, have a right to fair prices and fair terms." At least for a time we were given some respect for our profession. We even participated in a "Tractor Cade" and drove our tractor (a 560 IH), right up to the steps of the State Capitol Building in Denver. We turned a few heads at this unusual sight: chickens, goats, etc. and all kinds of farm equipment on the Capitol grounds. We were proud to be a part of it all. In 1983, Lyndell and I decided to remodel this old sod house of ours, and put in a bathroom. We had done without one in the house all these years. A neighbor, Joe Gurley, did the carpentry work. Every day Joe would build something, and everynightLyndell, the kids, and I would tear out another wall. We hauled several truckloads of dirt out of the house. We thought about how hard C.A. Monroe and his sons must have worked to haul all this sod in to build this house. But when we had finished, it was well worth the effort. We are still living here in 1982, and pray to continue to do so in the years ahead. by Janice Salnans �mother came from before she moved north of Burlington. During his life my dad was a farmer, blacksmith, school board member, road boss and worker, raised and sold purebred shorthorn bulls, and was a painter. During his later years when he couldn't do much else, he ...,. aa)):.:. ::):'- t*i, l',i" r',!r.; ;;,, ..; '4. repaired furniture. He is 88 years old now and still plans to "paint the roof of his house one trr t:ltt more time", We lived through dust storms, droughts, grasshoppers and crop failures. We ate wild duck, wild rabbits, lambs quarters, cooked wheat, and other things too, of course, including lots of "home-grown" food. But I don't look back on life as unhappy or deprived. If we were poor we didn't know it. Our parents made little things fun for us. Like taking us to a pond in the pasture to play in water after a rain, or my dad drowning out baby prairie dogs for us. They made cute pets, and nobody worried about rabies then. I remember once three other families, Mr. and Mrs. Gerdes, Mr. and Mrs. John M. Schaal and Mr. and Mrs. Roy McCarl were visiting. Each family had two girls the ages of my sister and me. My dad put 4 boards across a large wooden roller he had so we could all 8 teetertot at once. Simple, but oh, what fun. My mother had a big garden every year. In The Salmans fanily home when it was first bought in 1943. 5 miles north and 7z miles east of Vona, Co. SANDSTEDT. DILLON FAMILY jewelry. He is married to Zelka Herencic, whom he met while a manager of a McDonald's in Chicago. ln L977, they left Chicago F585 Carlos K. Dillon and Pauline Sandstedt were married at Burlington, Colorado, on April 9, 1939. Carlos was working at Reed Motor Company, and Pauline at King's Variety Store. In 1943, they moved to a farm near Carlos' parents, two and one half miles west of Bethune and one forth mile north of Hwy 24. During 1944 their daughter LoRayne was born, and they left the farm to live in Stratton to open their own restaurant in North Platte, Nebraska. The sold the Eagle Inn in 1981. LoRayne lives in Rockford, Illinois, where she manages a temporary help service which provides employees for both the office and the plant. She nor Jack have children. Carlos and Pauline live in an earth home outside Grant, Nebraska. They are active in the community there, and Carlos keeps his business interest alive through selling gold and silver coins. by Carlos Dillon and operated the hardware business they had bought from Barney Johnson. Their partners in the business were Phyllis and Bob Eb- erhart. On May 7, L947, a new building on Main Street housed the fullline hardware and furniture business. In 1949, Massy Harris implements and parts were added. In 1950' they purchased five GMC buses to operate the Stratton School District R4 routes. Bill Wolf, Leo Gagnon, Charles Rhea and Alvin Menke worked in the shop and were the bus drivers. The hardware was sold on February 15, 1953, to Ralph and Dean Grubbs. They retained ownership of the buses. Carlos and Pauline built a home two blocks south of Highway 24in 1949. They lived there until their move to Denver in 1960. Their second child, Jack, was born in 1954. In Denver, Carlos owned and operated his own businesses. LoRayne was graduated from Littleton High School in 1962. She attended one ye{u of college in Mexico City and one year at Mills college in Oakland, California. Carlos, Pauline and Jack moved to Oakley, Kansas, in 1967 and ultimately to North Platte, Nebraska, where Carlos sold machinery for Lepp and Osterloh. Jack was graduated form North Platte High School. Jack currently lives in Madrid, Nebraska, where he designs and builds fine silver SCHAAL FAMILY F586 San Schaal Jr. I have been asked to write something about my parents, Sam and Ruth Schaal. They lived 8 miles north and west of Burlington. My dad, Sam S. Schaal Jr., was born in 1899 and was raised north of Bethune. My mother, Ruth Church was born in Nebraska, but soon moved to Colo. and was raised south of Stratton where she graduated from First Central School. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. George Church had a country store by First Central for awhile. My parents met in 1925, while she was teaching school in his neighborhood, and they were married in 1926, and Lila beca-e the parents of 6 children Taylor, Opal Beeson (died in 1969), Leonard Schaal, Bob Schaal (died in 1979), Garry Marvin Schaal, and Glenn Schaal (died in 1968). Strangely enough, Opal married Clark Beeson in June of 1947,and I married Duane Taylor in October of 1947, both young men who lived in the same neighborhood our the garden there was a "vine-hougs" g frame covered with screen. Vines were plantgrew and covered it, and they around ed all the sides and top of it. Some things in the garden were off limits, but we could pick wonder-berries, ground-berries, holly hock seeds, and sometimes carrots and tomatoes and have a "picnic" in the vine house. I don't have much actual history as far as dates, but during the years my dad told lots of stories about the younger days of him and his brothers and sisters. Some were pretty ornery, but perhaps less harmful than the drugs and alcohol of today. One story he told me was of a party a group of young people had. There were more people than chairs so the parents sent some one to the chicken house to bring in some orange crates to use for chairs. Soon the people sitting on the orange crates were scratching and itching from chicken mites on the boxes. Soon everyone else was itching and scratching, too. Another time he told of a widow neighbor lady asking him and his brother John, when they were about 12 and 14, to come to her house and "tramp" sauerkraut for her. They did, and she gave them sauer-kraut to take home in appreciation for their help. They took it home, but wouldn't eat it. When he was about 13 and his brothers John and Jake 15 and 16, they decided to go swimming in a pond that was covered with ice. They had to chop a hole in the ice, and just chopped it big enough to dip in. His brothers didn't want him to go as they were afraid they would all get into trouble with their parents if they found out, but he insisted so they let him. Each jumped in the hole, but a 30 second dip was long enough, and he never begged to go again. by Lila Taylor �raised about 180 turkeys and sold them to Norbest each fall. Until the mid-40s we used horses to haul feed into stacks and out to cattle, to cultivate small plots and to handpick corn. Frank and Dash were Dad's favorite team of grays; Molly and Queen were mother and daughter; Queen's foal Tom and SCHAAL FAMILY F687 Sam Schaal, Jr. One time he and 3 other young men were playing cards at the home of Ed Knodel, a friend and neighbor, who later became his brother-in-law. They decided that the two who lost would go to the nearby home of a neighbor who was hard to get along with, and take and butcher a chicken and they would cook and eat it. The two who lost went out to Ed's chicken house and killed one of his chickens and went out to a field to pick the feathers, before taking it to the house. Later, Ed discovered one of his chickens wag missing, and worse yet, it was his only laying hen. Wedding receptions were very informal, and everyone went. At one, two young men, Fred Schaal and Fred Schlichenmayer slipped into the kitchen and took all the cakes. I never did hear what happened when there were no cakes for the reception. That evening when they got home, several young bachelors found a cake in their car. A bunch ofguys would get together for hair cuts. They would save the hair and put it in a cloth sugar sack. They would sew the sack shut and drop in on the road. Someone coming along would see it and stop, thinking they had found a full sack of sugar. When he was batching on his farm north of Burlington he went to the Frank Chandler home one butchering day. Some of the Chandler children put the pig tail in a sack in his wagon for him to find when he got home. He took it to town and since it was near Christmas had Ned Brown, a store owner gift wrap and address it to the Chandler family, and mailed it. When it came, the Chandler children argued as to who could open it, but when they did it was their pig tail, come back home! A few days after my parents got married, my dad went to Burlington and parked his car in front of Ned Brown's hardware store. While he was doing his other shopping, Ned Brown, a friend and a guy who liked jokes, and his hired man tied a baby bed to the top of my dad's car. When my dad came back he warl very embarrassed and tried to get it off, but it was wired on very securely, and he couldn't get it off in a hurry. So he jumped into his car and went home. Later on, when I ce-e along they were glad they had it. by Lila Taylor The Rev. Herbert and Doris Schaal's 30th Wedding Anniversary. (June 1894). Covenant of Holy Baptism, administered Apr. 7, 1929 by Rev. Chris Maedche in Hope Congregational Church with Dorothea Schaal (Schlichenmayer) and Albert Strobel as my godparents. For more details about our distinctive Germans from Russian heritage and our Swabian ancestors, see my history about our parents, Jake and Emma Schaal. My early memorieg include our family and home, our life and work on the farm and with livestock; our enthusiastic involvement in the life and fellowship of our Church; our frequent contacts with grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins and extended family; and of course the Great Depression! Terms like crash on Wall Street, national economy, GNP, and balance of trade meant nothing to us children. Our realities included low or no prices for corn, wheat, hogs and cattle; the silent tears of weathered farmers and ranchers when Govt. agents condemned and shot a portion of their livestock; the recurring years of drought and crop failures; the fierce duststorms that blotted out gun and sky and made us gxope our way home from school with wet rags tied over mouths and noses; and endless, relentless dusf encroaching everywhere; the weary despair of failed farmers and helpless anger offoreclosed ranchers; the weathered boards, sagging gates and creaking hinges of abandoned farmsteads - these were the starck tangibles of our Depression childhood! We had many happy experiences, too inspiring worship, good music and singing, and warm fellowship in our Church; enjoyable visits to and from relatives and neighbors; the good smell of fresh - turned earth when we plowed our melon and squash Baschtan and vegetable garden each Spring; busy windmills pumping fresh, cool water for our household, livestock and gardens; a wide variety of homegrown vegetables to go with our eggs, milk and butter; getting to stay home from school to help butcher (killing and dressing two hogs and a beef, quartering them and cutting the meat, making Bratwurst, SCHALL - KIEL FAMILY blackJerry became ournextlgam; and finally we had Dick and Dan, big gentle grays that pulled hugh barge-loads offeed with ease and Leberwurst and Pressmagen, enjoying hearty F588 Schaal - Strobel and Kiel - Ilunt I am a native of Kit Carson County and a second generation descendant of Germans from Russia. Born Nov. 2, 1928 in a sod house north of Burlington, I was the second and youngest child of Jake and Emma (Strobel) Schaal. My parents named me Herbert Raymond and dedicated me through the Metzelsupp' with Eienuhr in it, trimming hams and bacons, putting them in cure and later smoking them); watching calves and occasional colts frisk around their mothers; riding horses and working cattle; hunting jackrabbits and trapping coyotes, plucking, cleaning and cooking wild ducks that got in the way of our Iver Johnson 12 gauge. Routine chores and work weren't always fun, but knowing they were essential to our survival and progress, we did them with a sense of accomplishment. We milked up to 21 cows by hand and sold the crearn, feeding the skim-milk to calves, pigs and chickens. We kept the shucker wagon alongside when we picked corn. Whitey was oul cow pony, hard riding but tireless when working cattle. We sold her colt Benny to Uncle Albert Strobels. Brother Ted and I attended Emerson School 4 mi. NW of our home. On cold mornings our parents took us; after school we walked home. Sometimes we rode Whitey, but when Emerson School burned down, its horse-barn hosted our classes until a new school was built. We tried bicycling but the roads were so rutted and frozen that walking was easier. Teachers were the Rombergs, the Lightseys and my favorite, Luella O'Hare. Our recess play included pump-p,'-p-pullaway, prairie softball, kick-the-can, and in the event of snow, fox and goose. Our Mother's tragic death on Oct. 13, 1936 (caused by a household fuel explosion) was a hard blow to our family in this period. Bro. Ted finished 10th grade at Emerson, then stayed home to help Dad. In 1940 I won the county spelling contest. In May I competed in the State contest and got to meet Governor Ed C. Johnson in the Brown Palace Hotel. At age 11 I entered Burlington High School. My classmates were considerably older, so I had stiff competition. When I graduated in 1944, I received the first Bausch & Lomb Science Award in BHS history for my research in physics and chemistry. (Forty years later our son Jim won the snme B & L Science Award upon his graduation from Billings Sr. High in Montana!) I was offered an engineering scholarship to the University of Colorado, but WW2 and essential food production kept me from taking advantage of it. My brother was inducted into the Army, and our already - ailing Dad couldn't do the farming and ranching alone. On Aug. 27, L944 Elnora Knodel, Donald Schaal, Leo Schaal and I were confirmed in Hope Church by Rev. Daniel G. Schurr. Ours was the last class required to memorize many Scripture passages and the entire catechism in the German language. Personal Bible study and prayer, intense involvement in Christian fellowship, and United Youth Camp at La Foret led to my awareness of God's call to full-time Christian ministry. In Sept. 1951 Arnold & Viola Strobel and I began our studies at Yankton College in S. Dakota. New intellectual and spiritual challenges awaited us, and we made many new friends. Among these friends was Doris Ruth Kiel, a fellow theology student. Her paternal great- great-grandparents had come from Hamburg, Germany to Illinois in 1856. Wm. (the father) fought with the Union Army in the Civil War; his son Adolph (Doris' greatgrandfather), too young to bear arms, worked as a Govt. harness and saddle maker. Adolph brought his family to Lake Preston, S. Dak. in 1902 and ran the area's leading harness shop. His son Wm. with wife Magdalena (Hupfer) homesteaded near Cottonwood, SD in 1908. Doris' father, Raynond William �Kiel. was the second of their eight children. Doris' maternal great-great-grandparents were all Quakers who came from England to the U.S. 1828-1836. Succeeding generations moved westward from Pennsylvania to Indiana to Illinois & Iowa and then to S. Dakota. by The Rev. Ilerbert Schaal SCIIAAL - KIEL FAMILY salvage, then as pa5rmaster over 440 men. We continued to serve Zion Church in Norfolk, often making extra 150-mile trips for Christmas and Easter cantata rehearsals and to prepare the confirmation class. Herb completed his graduate courses that fall and winter, in Spring 1956 receiving his B.Th. degree with special honors and recognition for bilingual ministry. That June we were called to the pastorate of First Cong'l Church in Crook, CO.; there I was ordained into the Christian ministry on Nov. 23, 1956. Our second son, Dwight Timothy, was born Mother's Day, May 12, 1957 at Logan County F689 (Schaal - Strobel and Kiel - Ilunt Doris' mother, Ruth Lillian, was the seventh of Jesse L. and Sallie L. (Stanley) Hunt's nine children. Grandpa Jesse and his father Reuben built the first Quaker meeting houses in South Dakota. Doris was born Jan. 7,t932 in Highmore, SD, the second child of Raymond and Ruth (Hunt) Kiel. When she was ?, they moved to Custer in the Black Hills. Doris finished elementary and high school there, gladuating in the Spring of 1950. Their family was very active in Custer Community Church. Moving up through other responsibilities, Doris was then elected to lead S. Dakota's Pilgrim Fellowship as state president. Her family suffered several tragedies through fire. Her infant sister died in a fire that destroyed the Grandparents Kiels'home in 1935; in L942 the family home in Custer was struck by lightning and burned to the ground; in 1948 the fanily's elevator and feed store was nearly destroyed by fire; in 1950, after a busy Easter Sunday, the Kiels' beloved Community Church burned to the ground during the night. Doris entered Yankton College that fall; in Spring 1951 her family moved to San Leandro, CA. Doris worked in a Bay area cannery that summer, expecting to continue college out there. But she decided to return to and one of the new Yankton after all students that fall -was Herb Schaal! They were no more than casual friends at first, but mutual participation in some classes, in college choir and two of its tours awakened their appreciation and deeper friendship for one another. We (Doris & Herb) were married June 3, 1954 in First Congregational Church at Yankton, the ssme week that Doris graduated with her B.A. cum laude. We spent our honeymoon summer serving Immanuel Cong'l Church in Rocky Ford, CO. and Hospital in Sterling, CO. We had served our dear people at Crook for only 2 Yz years when our Mission Board petitioned and sent us to take over the work in Argentina. We went by train to New Orleans where we boarded the freighter DEL ALBA on Dec. 19,1958. The 51-day voyage was trying because we were in cramped quarters with our two little boys and there was no lounging area. We steamed up the Amazon to Belem, then back out around the NE tip of Brazil to Sao Salvador. Then for three precarious days and nights our ship lunged and wallowed in a raging storm off Cap Frio. Monstrous, foaming waves thundered across our decks and drove salty brine through gasketed portholes. We grew so used to compensating that we staggered when we stepped onto terra firma in Rio de Janeiro. Our ship unloaded 4,000 tons of wheat in Santos, then ran into a port strike in Monte- video where Uruguayan marines occupied our ship for 7 days. Finally arriving in Buenos Aires, we experienced yet another rude introduction to South American bureaucracy, corruption and rapacious customs officials. I was superintendent of our Mission and the Evangelical Congregational Church in Argentina and president and head professor of its Instituto de Teologia for 13 years' Our seminary and headquarters were in Concordia, Entre Rios, 500 km. N of Bs. Aires. It would take volumes to tell even a part of our work and the vast area we served. In brief, however, we fulfilled five major areas of responsibility: 1. Supervision & development of mission (18 new churches & chapels, 12 parsonages, large conference hall, acquisition of property for new HQ and seminary during our years there). 2. Education & training of pastors for Argentina & Brazil (in seminary, conferences, retreats). Pastoral ministry to 21 native pastors & parishes and to "seminary parish" of 15 congtegations (the latter with the help of our attending the World Council Assembly in senior students. 4. Six major regional conferences & evan- Theology. September brought us back to Yankton; we lived in a college duplex and Doris worked as assistant program director at Station WNAX. Herb worked at sale barns gelizations per year, plus, many local evangel- Evanston, Ill. as delegates from our School of and a lumber yard and did his senior studies. On weekends (from Sept. '54 thru May'56) we served Zion Cong'l Church in Norfolk, NE 75 mi. away. For Herb's graduation Doris presented him with their first child, Mark Edward, born Pentecost Sunday, May 29, 1955. Herb received his B.A. magna cum laude with major in theology. He worked that summer and fall for the Army Corps of Engineers on the construction of Gavin's Point Da-, first as foreman of lumber izations. 5. Denominational liaison with UCBWM in New York and ecumenical liaison with many denominations and confessions within Latin America and around the world. We used mostly German and Spanish in our work, with an occasional English service for the Anglicans and for Britishers'funerals. We read and understand Portuguese, but our occasional work in Brazil was better served in German. For 4 years we were also the houseparents in Concordia seminary; Doris planned and prepared meals for 18-19 people in an antiquated kitchen with the help of a maid. Foods were basic, shopping was complicated and our life was Spartan and time- intensive. Without any vehicle the first 2 years, we got around the city on foot and bicycle, traveling the country congregations and other provinces by train, horse-drawn wagons, with primitive colectivos (buses) where they existed and when roads were passable, and crossing the large rivers by canoe, motor-launch and ferry. Our daughter Patricia Ruth was born Sept. 29, 1959 in Sanatorio Concordia with a midwife attending. When she was 17 days old, we carried her in a willow basket by train and then wagon to a large evangelization in the country. Doris trained our seminary choir and directed its German, Spanish, Portuguese and English anthems and spirituals at such events. It often rained in torrents and we walked ankle-deep in mud. There was little privacy and no indoor toilets. We "roughed it" and people appreciated our family coming to the remotest areas to share God's love and our lives with them. After a 6-yr. term we came home for deputation and furlough. Dad-Grandpa Jake welcomed us to his new home on the farm' Doris was the homemaker; Mark, Dwight & Patty attended school in Burlington; Herb preached and gave mission presentations in Colo., Wyo., Nebr., Iowa, Ohio, Calif., Ore. & Washington. Our third son, James Andrew, was born Dec.27,1965 at Memorial Hospital in Burlington (the only Kit Carson Co. native of our children!) When he was 4 mos. old, we returned to Argentina for another term. This time we flew, stopping in Panama to visit cousins Florence, Scotty and children. Spa"tan living, rigorous travel, lampant inflation, political turmoil & 5 revolutions, and too much work made our life difficult and oft times dangerous. Nevertheless, we look back on those years when we served 20,000 people in over 100 congregations in 7 provinces of Argentina as the most significant period of our ministry and mission work thus far. We returned to the U.S. in July 1971; Herb did 6 more mos. of deputation for the Mission; the family stayed with Grandpa Jake and the children attended Burlington schools. In Jan. L972 we moved to Lodi, California to serve Ebenezer Cong'l UCC. The children experienced culture shock, but adjusted successfully and were fully involved in schools and our Church. During our happy years in Lodi, Mark, Dwight & Patty all graduated from high school with honors (Patty the valedictorian of her class of 450) and Jim from 8th grade with honors. Dad Herb joined son Mark with Tanya Lokteff in marriage on July 15, 1978 in Sacrnmento. A year later he joined son Dwight with Karen Seifert in marriage on July 28, 1979 in Lodi. Patty and her fiance Steve Browning are planning their wedding for Nov. 14, 1987, probably in Lodi. Doris, Herb & Jim moved to Billings, Montana in Aug. 1980 to sewe Pilgrim Cong'l UCC. Our whole family cnme to help Jim celebrate his graduation (with honors) from Billings Sr. High in June 1984. Jim was accepted by Deep Springs in California, and we also felt drawn back to the West Coast. In June 1985 we moved to Sacramento where we enjoy being near our families here and in the Bay area. Mark was with Soil Conservation Service for some years and is now working toward his M.B.A. degree. Sanya, Adam & Sophia are our only grandchildren thus far. �Dwight is a flight systems engineer with Sperry Corp. in Phoenix and his wife Karen the accounting supervisor for a development bank. Patty was Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship's area secretar5r for 5 yrs., then moved to Seattle in Sept. 1986. Her fiance is with Gooddeeds Mission to Unreached People. They recently sent a contingent of teachers to the People's Republic of China to help that country with its education and to provide a Christian "presence" (no overt evangelization is allowed). After Deep Springs Jim plans to continue his studies with the tentative goal of teaching higher math and physics at university level. He's been teaching calculus to the newest "Deep Springers" this year. Herb, elected a nonpaid Corporate Member of our United Church Board for World Ministries in 1983, helps assess mission needs and challenges around the world. The Board meets periodi- cally to analyze and plan global mission strategy. Doris and Herb hope to continue working as partners in full-time Christian mission and ministry wherever the Lord leads them. To God be the Glory, Great Things He Hath Done! by The Rev. Herbert Schaal SCHAAL - KNODEL FAMILY twenty-five head of cattle twenty-one miles, the first day, riding on horseback. Dan was eleven years old at the time. They corralled the cattle at the old railroad Stockyard that night in Stratton. The following day, they arrived at their destination. They made their living by farming wheat and raising cattle, they also had some chickens. The house that they lived in had five rooms, it had no electricity or plumbing. They remodeled this house later on. To this day, the house still stands, and it is being lived in at the present time. Dan's grandfather, Matthew Schaal, lived with the family, south of Stratton for four years until he died on December 1, 1948. On December 10, of that snme year, the last child was born to this family, Leon James. The family had many hard times, in the 1950's; they had several bad dust storms; they were about as bad as the 1930's! They didn't raise any wheat for four years because of these dust storms. After these terrible dust storms, the years got better; they eventually got electricity and wat€r. All of the children have remained in Stratton, except for Ivan, who now lives in Denver. Dan married Alberta Lang on May 22, L965, and they have remained here in Stratton. They have two children, Alice and Gary. by Alice Schaal F590 My grandparents, Matthew Jacob Schaal, born north of Bethune, Colorado, on May 2, 1903, and Lydia Christine Knodel, also born north ofBethune, Colorado, on July 18, 1908, were united in marriage on April 15, 1931. Both were of German descent, their parents migrating to America from Russia. SCHAAL - STROBEL FAMILY F59r Matt and Lydia lived northwest of Burlington, Colorado on a small farm near the Landsman Creek, in 1931. They had two children while living here. Ruby Darlene, born November 30, 1932 and Daniel Lee, born February 4, 1934. They raised wheat and cattle while living there. They lived at a place called Prosser, trailer hitch. When they returned, they moved ten miles north and one mile east of Bethune, Colorado on Dan's grandmother's farm, where his brother Ivan Lloyd was born, October 1, 1940. They farmed with horses and tractors on their farm. They raised wheat and corn, and milked about eight cows. They lived here until May 1945, and then moved eight miles south of Stratton, Colorado on a small farm. Dan Schaal and Paul Knodel moved about forests. They were often pillaged, plundered and ravaged by invading French armies, especially during the time of Napolean. Catherine the Great, a German princess manied to Czar Peter III. beceme the Czarina of All The Russias after her husband's death. Of strong will and character, she developed her huge empire with political wisdom and economic genius. In July 1763 she issued an edict of invitation to immigrants from west-, ern Europe, offering them an array of inducements to settle and develop the regions along the Volga River and the vast, untnmed steppes of southern Russia. Thousands of Germans responded and in only four years established 104 pioneer colonies along the Volga. Catherine died in 1796 and was succeeded by Czar Alexander I. A few German colonies had sprung up near the Black Sea as early as 1781, but when Alexander issued a new invitation in 1801, thousands of new immigrants from southern Germany trekked overland with carts and wagons or floated their families and meager possessions down the Danube in "Schachteln" (box-boats), establishing new colonies around the Black Sea and in Bessarabia between the rivers Dnjestr and Pruth. The Schaals and Doblers were among the founders of Teplitz, the Strobels and others of Beresina. Many of the Russian Empire's promises to these immigrants were never fulfilled, and in time their civil liberties (administration of their own schools, freedom from conscription Our Granddad Snmuel Schaal, 17, and his Washington on a small piece of land in the country. Matt worked in an orchard and Lydia helped pick and pack strawberries and brought home in a wooden apple box on the and princes who controlled the lands and next older brother Matthias, 30, emigrated from Gnadental in Bessarabia to South Dakota in 1888. "Right after the New Year in 1891" they came to Burlington via Denver by train. (See Granddad's historic account, eolicited and published by the Burlington Record in July 1951). Granddad worked all 1929 Model A, with a two-wheel trailer she layed an egg every other day! They were people chafed under the increasing restrictions and heavy taxation of the feudal dukes World War I. behind, carrying their possessions. They returned to Colorado in May 1939. Dan brought back with him a banty rooster and hen from his aunt. He was five years old at the time. The hen took the trip very well; culture. These creative, freedom-loving etc.) and religious freedoms began to be taken from them. The colossal magnets of civil and religious freedom, of new land to be homesteaded, and of other opportunities awaiting them in America drew hundreds of thousands of Germans from Russia to the United States from the early 1870s until the outbreak of In late March, 1938, they moved to the state of Washington. They arrived at Washington the first of April. They travelled in a also thinned beets. and eastern Germany, the Swabians and their Bavarian neighbors were independent and "laid back" in character, not easily regimented, sure of their own identity and values but also appreciative of other people and their Jake and Emma Magdalena Schaal sometime after their wedding. (Schaal - Schmidke and Strobel Dobler Our parents, Jake Schaal and Emma (nee Strobel), were both natives of Kit Carson County, the children of Germans from Russia who emigrated from South Russia to South Dakota in the 1880s, then came to eastern Colorado to homestead NW of Burlington in what is still known as "the Settlement". Their ancestors were Swabians (descendants ofthe ancient Celts and cousins ofthe lrish) who lived for centuries in the forests and highlands of southern Germany. In contrast to the Hessians and Prussians of northern over this area and in the Denver ore smelters for several years, in 1892 taking a homestead I lz m| WNW of the present-day Hope Congregational United Church of Christ. Samuel Schaal and Rosina Schmidke were married on Nov. 24, 1895, their wedding solemnized by Pastor Gerhard Janssen in the original rock and adobe Immanuel Lutheran Church. Our Dad, Jake Schaal (born Jan. 4, 1897 and baptized Feb. 28, 1897), was their first child and our Uncle John (born Feb. 2?, 1898) their second. Rosina helped some neighbors who were ill with typhoid or typhus, contracted the fever herselfand died July 30, 1898, leaving her 1,8 and 5 month old boys motherless. Little Jakob and Johann were loved and cared for by their grandparents Samuel and Anna Schmidke until their father Samuel married again. �Grandpa's second union was with Dorothea Bauder, their marriage solemnized Jan. 15, 1899 by Pastor Janssen in Immanuel Church. Their union was blessed with eight children: Sam Jr., Fred, Helen (Knodel), Carl, Rudolph (died in infancy), Dorothea (Schlichenmayer), George, and Louise (Holmes). Life on our High Plains has always been rigorous and most early settlers were poor. Yet by reaaon of their strong personal relationship with God, their hard work and frugality, and their real sense of community (neighbors helping neighbors), the people of Friedensfeld (Field of Peace as the Settlement was first nemed) developed an oasis of diligent agriculture, growing numbers of diverse livestock, modest homes and tidy homesteads, good rural schools and a strong Christian community centered around the Immanuel Lutheran and Hope Congregational churches. Most of them spoke English, Swabian and High German until WW2. Our forebears had not accepted "Russification" in the Old Country, yet they incorporated many Russian words and terms into their Swabian dialect, and this linguistic mix made their oft-repeated legends and stories absolutely fascinating. They knew the Scriptures, the classic German hymns and American gospel songs, studying and singing them in their homes as well as in their churches. They farmers' ranchers, were many-talented mechanics. builders, craftsmen, blacksmiths, In time some of them and their descendants became professionals in education, business, Christian ministry and mission, engineering, architecture, journalism, music, government and service industries. When our Dad was 15, he and his classmates were confirmed in Immanuel Church by Pastor M.P. Jensen on Apr. 5, 1912. In that same year Grandpa Samuel bought the Wm. Yale place and had sons Jake and John live and work there. In 1915 Grandpa bought the Sherman Yale place from whence the longtime Yale, Colo. postoffice had served its patrons over a large area. In 191? he sold his homestead to Frank Kra-er and moved the rest of his family to the Sherman Yale place where they now built a large barn with haymow and a spacious two-story house. Grandpa, our Dad Jake, John S. and Sam Jr. also bought three half-sections of land on Mozeman Creek 7 mi. north of Burlington as the future farms of the three boys. Dad Jake operated huge "one-lunger" (10 inch piston, 12 inch stroke) Advance-Rumely "Oil Pull" tractors with matching multi- bottom plows for his father and for Harry Degering. He broke out many level tracts of prairie on their own and neighboring ranches. On his, John's and Sa- Jr.'s respective halfsections he broke out 200 acres for cultivation and left 120 acres (including the draws and dry creek-holes) for pasture. The U.S. became involved in WWI and many of Kit Carson County's young men were drafted or enlisted. Jake enlisted in the U.S. Army on Aug. 27, 1918, trained at CanP Lewis, Washington and served as a medic with Field Hospital Company 252 of the 13th Sanitary Train Regiment. The war ended before his outfit was shipped to Europe, and Jake was honorably discharged on Apr. 5, 1919 at Ft. D.A. Russell (near Cheyenne), Wyoming. He returned home and began to a frame barn with build up his farmland haymow in 1919, then a-sod and adobe house, a garage attached to the original shack and giranary, and other buildings. by The Rev. llerbert Schaal SCHAAL - STROBEL FAMILY F692 Schaal - Sehmidke and Strobel Dobler Our maternal great-grandparents and grandparents emigrated from southern Russia to South Dakota in 1885 (Jacob Strobel Sr. and family from Neu-Beresina and Christian Dobler Sr. and family from Teplitz). In 1890 they came to Kit Carson County and helped establish the new Friedensfeld settlement. Our grandfather Jacob Strobel married Katharina Dobler in 1893; in time their union Theodore, was blessed with five children Emma, John, Albert and Emil.-Our mother, Emma Magdalena Strobel, was born Aug. 10, 1896 in the family home 1 % mi. ESE of Immanuel Lutheran Church. She was baptized Sept. 13, 1896 by Pastor G. Janssen. When she was 13 72, Emma and her classmates were confirmed in Immanuel Church by Pastor M.P. Jensen on March 28, 1910. Jake Schaal and Emma Strobel were married June 26, 1921 in the original frame edifice of Hope Congregational Church, their wedding solemnized by Pastor Karl Haem- melnann. The happy couple established their home on Jake's farm, and their first son, Theodore B., was born the next year (March 21, Lg22). They were hard-working and progressive, sharing every task and fully involved in the fellowship of their Church and of their extended families. Emma's brother John, a skilled carpenter, found good work in California and Jake, Emma and little Teddy joined him there from Fall 1924 until Summer 1925. Jake helped John and his crew build Union Ice Co. plants in Woodland, Watsonville and Stockton. Emma was the housekeeper, cook and senmstress. They enjoyed the climate, exotic foliage and flow- ers, abundant fruit, magnificent scenery (including ocean beaches and giant redwoods) and the relatives who lived in northern California. When they returned home, a good harvest awaited them. Dad bought a new Fordson tractor and various implements to accelerate the mechanization of their farming operations. Then they bought a new 1926 Chevrolet truck which served faithfully for over 25 years, never incurring a ticket with its top speed of a little over 30 mph! In 1928 it and the similar trucks of Jacob Strobel and John Dobler Sr. hauled the brick and other building material from the railroad out into the Settlement for the beautiful new Hope Church building. Jake and Emma's second son, Herbert R., was born Nov. 2, 1928. The stock market crash of 1929 did not immediately affect our farm economy, and various families (including our parents) upgraded their transportation with Model A Fords or newfangled 6cylinder Chevys. Then began those seven terrible years of unrelenting drought and crop failures. Fierce winds tore the precious topsoil from under the dwindling vegetation and turned many days into choking duststorms that blotted out sun and sky. The dark dirt raged down from the Dakotas and Nebraska; the yellow dust whistled up from and our own soil Oklahoma and Texas - back and forth, the accompanied the torment mixture settling in weeds and thistles, filling road ditches and burying endless miles of fences to the top wire! Dad fought back; he forged heavy chisel points out of Army truck springs, tempered and bolted them to the beams of our Case lister. Pulling them with a John Deere "D" tractor, be ripped out huge clods and left deep furrows on the contour and acrosswinds, greatly reducing soil erosion and capturing some of the sudden rains that fell even in those dry years. We cut and and stacked russian thistles and the few stalks of cane and corn that grew. In our own shop and without power tools, Dad desigrred and built a large hammermill with long, wide throat and cylinder. We ground the thistles and stover together, sometimes adding a little alfalfa, and our cows produced good milk from this depression feed. Farms were being foreclosed, people were in despair and many moved away to the irrigated valleys and orchard regions of Colorado, Washington, Idaho and Oregon. Many of us stayed, hoarded our little cream checks to pay our land taxes, and rejoiced when we had a small barley crop in 1939 (still cut with our Massey-Harris header). In 1940 we had a fair crop of wheat and some rye which we harvested with our first Minneapolis-Moline 12 ft. pull - type combine. That same summer we bought a new M-M Model "[J" tractor and an 8 ft. M-M oneway to work our stubble. This equipment, plus a new J. Deere 12 ft. rod weeder for cleaning summer- fallow, gave us a fresh start in farming. Increasing rainfall and better crops enabled us to pay off our land and machinery and to purchase some adjoining land. The hardest blow to our family came Oct. 13, 1936 when our mother suffered fatal burns in a fuel explosion and passed away eight hours later. She had been a full partner with Dad in their mutual endeavors, a diligent, loving wife and mother, a real friend to her neighbors and an untiring worker in our Church. It was a terrible loss to us all, but Dad carried the heaviest burden of grief and loneliness, of parenting us boys and continuing our family's contribution to Church and community. Our loving and ever-present Lord, our Church and many wonderful relatives and friends helped us survive our loss and forge ahead in Christian faith. World War II came and people began to prosper with good crops and prices, with better machinery and larger operations. Herb graduated from high school and Ted was inducted into the armed forces. Jake and Herb continued their beef and grain production and bought an adjoining half-section from Grace M. and Margaret Camp. When Ted returned from service and married Ebna Gramm, they began their life and work together on that former Camp place. Our family continued to work and worship together. Both Dad and Ted served on Hope Church's board and diaconate, at times conducting services and giving the messages when there was no resident pastor. They were (are) dedicated stewards in God's Kingdom and Christ's Church, giving generously of �their time, talents and resources. One of SCHAAL, SAM Dad's special gifts to Hope Church was a new Baldwin organ in 1966 as a memorial to his beloved Emma (our mother) on the 30th anniversary of her passing. Herb felt a strong call to Christian ministry and left for Yankton College and its School of Theology in South Dakota. That decision was difficult for him, for he knew that Dad would be alone FAMILY F694 with all the livestock and farming, with housekeeping and all the ranch maintenance. But Dad and Teds' did much of their work together, and when Dad's health failed he liquidated his cattle and leased his ground to Teds'. Dad had a new home built on his farmstead in the early 1960s and enjoyed it for about ten years. He flew to Argentina in 1970 and spent six months with Herbs', visiting their various mission fields, seeing many different peoples and cultures, experiencing a revolution and even more excitement when his New Yorkbound airliner turned back to Buenos Aires because of a bomb threat! Jake's health declined further until his lower body became paralyzed in 1975. Teds' near Burlington and Herbs'in Lodi, California alternated in giving their Dad total care for three years. Jake was then in Grace Manor from Aug. 15, 1978 until his passing on Sept. 8, 1986 at the age of 89 years, 8 months and Four generations of Schaal's. Standing; Sam Linda, Ruben, Aaron and Warren Schaal, June 7, 1986 4 days. We celebrate all that God has given us a goodly cultural and spiritual heritage, honest, loving Christian parents, good times lington with her husband, Wayne Parrish, along with the hard, many opportunities to share God's love with others, and the privilege of leaving a good sxnmple to those who will follow in our steps! Joel and Jonathan. Diane and Edward are by The Rev. Herbert Schaal SCHAAL, RUBEN, JR. AND LINDA F593 In the late 1880's Matt Schaal immigrated to the U.S. from Russia with his two brothers, John and Snm, settling first in South Dakota and later making their homesteads N.W. of Burlington. Matt was married to Eva Bletzer and to this union came Ed, John, Bill, Mary, Matt, Dora, and Gottlieb. Ed married Regina Frank and had two children before Regina was tragically killed in a fire on their farm. The children were Ruben and Mabel. Ed eventually remarried and had four more children, Luella, Ray- mond, Melvin, and Rolland. After farming for a few years Ed moved the family to Idaho during the Colorado dust bowl ofthe 1930's, ultimately settling in Washington State. Ruben served in the army during WWII and married Erna Christina Weisshaar, daughter of John and Lydia Weisshaar who were from Bethune but had moved their family to Oregon in 1935. Ruben and Erna lived in Oregon during their first years together, having three children, Ruben Jr., Kathleen, and Shirley. In 1953 Ruben moved the family to Colorado, after having purchased a farm N.W. of Burlington once owned by his uncle John Schaal. Ruben and Erna were later divorced and Ruben even- tually had a second family, Diane and Edward. Kathleen now lives N.W. of Bur- and their two children, Tandi and Brandon. Shirley lives in Burlington with her husband, Stanley Shumate, and their two children, also now living in Burlington with their Mother. Lettie. Ruben Jr. was raised on the farm with Kathleen and Shirley, attending the Emmerson School House located one half mile West of their farm under the direction of Virginia E. Felch until they began going to Burlington's schools when Ruben was in the 9th grade. After graduation in 1967, hejoined the U.S. Navy and was Honorably discharged following two years of service. He married Linda McKinney, a California native, in 1971 and in 1972 they obtained the financing to purchase the necessary equipment to pioneer what is now known as Schaal Drilling Com- pany. They have since constructed and equipped over 1000 water wells for farmers and businesses in the Colorado and Kansas area, in addition to servicing domestic, irrigation, and municipal wells. They have two sons, Warren, born in 1975, and Aaron, born in 1976. Today Ruben and Linda continue operating Schaal Drilling with the active participation of Warren and Aaron. Perhaps the following poem written by Linda commemorating the company's 10th anniversary in 1982 best expresses what living in Burlington, Colorado has meant to the Ruben Schaal Jr. family; There are many fine professions that a man might chose to seek, but none of them could offer him a challenge so unique - for it has been a pleasure serving this community, providing top notch service through the drilling industry - growing with you farmers, our neighbors and our friends, has shown us more than anything where life really begins - We're proud to live in Burlington, we're proud of what we do! We say in all sincerity, we're proud to work for you! by Linda Schaal Schaal Sr., Herbert Schaal. Jake Schaal holding Herbert's son Mark. Ilomestead Days on the Plains Burlington was a little town of about 180 or 200 people, a quarter of a mile from the railroad depot when we came down from Denver. We could not see the town. as we arrived about 2:00 a.m. and we stayed in the depot until morning. There was not one building from the Montezuma Hotel up to the depot on the east side of main street, and not a building north ofthe two story structure on the corner on the west side up to the depot. The cowboys staked their saddle horses out there. South of the Montezuma Hotel were the following buildings: Frank Mann's Butcher shop, Henry Stoll Hardware, Maynard Cooke Drug store, J.W. Penfold Grocery store, Charlie Lamb Grocery store, John Hiller saloon. East of that was a livery barn and Kaiser's blacksmith shop. On the west side of main street (14), north of the location of Mrs. Wilson's dress shop was the Odd Fellow Hall, the Post Office, a bank and some other buildings. That was the whole townsite. One block west of main street, in the half block where the Hendricks mortuary is now located, was T.G. Price's cow corral. I bought a horse from him while he was located there. Mr. Price was clerk of the district court for many years, and county judge one term. The courthouse set out there all alone. The Burlington Lumber Yard was located where the Foster yard is now. Burlington had a nice brick schoolhouse, considering the size ofthe town. In 1893 Robert Campbell and J.W. Penfold built a flour mill, located just east of the depot. Mr. Canpbell was one of our early county clerks. They hired a miller from Kansas City, Mr. Edshes. He made four grades of flour - High Patent, Victor, Baker and Cowboy. There was the poor families' flour, 75 cents for a 48 pound sack. The bread looked like whole wheat, but it was good bread and many mothers taught their daughters how to bake, for you could not buy a loaf of bread in the store. All thev had was soda �crackers in wooden boxes as big as an egg case. They weighed them out to you in paper sacks. We never thought we would have as many stores in Burlington as they have today. So much for Burlington. In the spring of 1892, I took a homestead, and built a shanty on a claim. I bought a team of oxen, one cow and four heifers and started a little farm on my own. We felt happy when we could call a piece of land our own. The boys had a little song: "I got some land from Uncle Sam, And I em, happy as a clnm. When I cnme here to get my start, My neighbors they were miles apart. But now there is one on every claim, And sometimes they want all the same. O Sweet Colorado land On my dug out roof I stand And look away across the plains And wonder if it ever rains, And turn around and weed my corn And think I'll never sell my farm. Settlement to the Dartnell place, and to the Stetler and Burt Ragan places, and then across the railroad at the Equity elevator (the old one at the north end ofmain street or 14th street). From the church in the Settlement we made a road across to Claremont, now Stratton. There was not one farm until we got within two miles of town. Claremont had one store on main street. Jim Roberts operated the store. He had the post office, drugs, dry goods, grocerier and a little hardware, all in one building. He sat in a wheelchair as he could not walk, but his head was all business SCHAAL, SAM F696 Ilomestead Days on the Plains homesteaders. One was Rev. Hackenberger from the Missouri Synod. He lived northeast of Burlington. The other lived over near Kanorado. They called him Preacher Willis. I never met him, but I knew Rev. Hackenberger. We met in Burlington quite often. We had five ox teams in the Settlement Mr. Stutz, Mr. Knodel, Mr. Hefner, my brother Matt, and myself owning teams. The reason we used oxen was because they were easy to feed when you worked them, needing no grain. We fed them cane or corn fodder. That's all they needed. They are tame and don't stray like horses, and nobody had money to build a fence for pasture. Horses sold high and you had to feed them grain when you worked them. After I had some land broke out on the homestead, I took my little stock down to the river for feed. E.G. Davis, father of the Davis brothers, Louis, Ed, Rosser and Morton, would keep them with their cattle for so much a month until fall. Mr. Davis was one of our first county commissioners and was re-elected in 1893. In the spring of 1894, after I had put in some cotn and feed on my homestead and took my stock to Mr. Davis, I went to Denver in the hope of finding work, but conditions had not changed. 1894 was a very dry year in eastern Colorado. I looked for work in western Kansas and Nebraska. I would work on ranches and do anything I could get. In the fall I went home to the brother's and my homestead to spend the winter in peace and rest. The fall of 1894 several of the homesteaders left that I knew. They moved to other stakes but we had no place to go, and worked hard for what we had, so we stayed, knowing that God feeds the sparrow and would take care of ug if we trusted Him. He did take care ofus or I wouldn't be here today. antelope would run around in bunches, from 15 to 30 head in a bunch. Yes, folks, we had quite a few of them in the early years. People would go out at lambing time and catch little ones and raise them on cow's milk and tame them. E.G. Davis had a pair, a billy and nanny, for two years or more. I saw them myself. There was also a pair in Burlington. The nanny was a little shy, but the billy At noon his wife would come after him and pushhim home fordinner and bring him back to the store. I suppose she did the same thing in the morning and evening. He must have had a good wife. He had one man clerk to help him in the store and as he was the only dealer in town he could order farm implements - a plow, wagon, or anything you wanted. Give him your order and in two weeks you would have it, and you paid for the article when you Selder as cashier. That was the first good bank in Burlington. Later Winegar and Weare organized the Kit Carson Land Com- and to get trade from the Settlement he would pay 1 or 2 cents more for a dozen eggs and sell a sack of flour 5 cents cheaper than Burlington, and that would do it. You may ask how he got around if he could not walk. Well, he could wheel that chair around pretty got it. I got John Deere gang plows and a Moline wagon from him and saved $10.00 each. We had two ministers here who were and Claremont, and he told me how the would come right up to you. I saw them a few times, walking up and down the sidewalk, when I came to town. I can't remember any more who owned them or how long they had them. The country didn't settle up much during the nineties. In 1901 Gottlob Amman and family (Albert Amman's folks) cane. Grandfather Amman brought a little sled with him that a blacksmith in Nebraska made to clean small corn down in the lister furrows. The runners were four feet long, made out of 2 x 8's with four knives, two long ones in front and two short ones behind. That was the best thing made to clean corn and cane before the weeder cane out. The Ammans later went back to Nebraska. good. by Lila Taylor FAMILY In those days there were only three farms on the road from the Settlement to Burlington. We cut across country from the Five farmers lived around Claremont Wellman and Kern east along the railroad; Fuller on the north, and Hobert and Chalmers on the northeast. by Lila Taylor SCIIAAL, SAM FAMILY F596 Homestead Days on the Plains In the spring of 1895, the county commissioners shipped in spring wheat and gave every homesteader six bushels to sow. No one had a drill, sowe sowed itbyhand and plowed it under and harrowed the ground. It came up, looked like it might make wheat, then the first of June we got a rain and hailstorm that cut it to the ground and that was the end of that. Then we started to raise cattle and corn and cane for feed. It didn't take much machinery - a walking lister, a walking cultivator and a little seed was all you needed. You could plant 10 or 1.1 acres with one bushel of corn and you had two or three months to shuck it. The cobs made good fuel for the stove and in the fall the stalks made good pasture when the ground was covered with snow. By this time we all had horses and let the ox go for beef. In the spring of 1899, the John Ziegler familycame down from Tripp, South Dakota, and gettled 7 Yz miles southwest of our church. His father bought land for him and he later took a homestead. He was for many years the only farmer between the Settlement Also in 1901, A.W. Winegar and Henry G. Weare came out and organized the Stock Growers State Bank in Burlington, with W.S. pany and tried to get people from Iowa and Nebraska out here to buy land. The year 1908 was a dry one again. Corn got about three feet high and dried up and did not make good feed. We had a hard winter. It started to snow the day before Thanksgiving and kept it up until we had 18 inches ofsnow on the ground on the level and three to four feet in the yard. Our cattle didn't get out of the yard for a month. We cut all the corn and put up thistles but that feed went fast and the snow stayed on. That was the first time we had to make a sled to go to town. By January 1909, we saw that we had to eell part of our cattle to get the rest through. We could not buy feed for money. Buyers came from eastern Kansas and offered us three cents a pound for steers and two cents a pound for cows and they weighed light. Big cows brought $18.00 a head, but the buyers knew we had to sell or let them die. so we had to take it. by Lila Taylor SCHAAL, SAM FAMILY F697 Homestead Days on the Plains 1909 and 1910 were fairly good, but 1911 was like last year and this spring. Had to feed until May. We had two small elevators, Band and Abbott, but they didn't get much in, and the railroad was awful slow. Corn was 90 centg and a $1.00 bushel, and we would gladly pay it if we could get it. When they got a car, they sold it out five bushels at a man so that everbody got a little. But finally spring got around the corner and stock could get out and �help themselves. I think if we had had machinery 50 years ago like we have today, we would have done a lot better. Farming has improved a lot in the last 50 years. I would like to mention something about and sold the cream and eggs to buy groceries. The skim milk was fed to the baby calves and pigs. Geneva had turkeys in 4-H. She won several State trophys with them. We dressed them and sold them at Thanksgiving and Christmas. She also took sewing and beef fattening. Clyde's 4-H projects were breeding beef, beef fattening and a catch it calf. In 1968 Geneva married Dan Hudson. They have two children, Babette and Justin and live in Aurora, Co. On 1979 Clyde the mail. They had mail service in Burlington, but I think it was in 1891 that Yale Post Office was established. Sherman Yale was our first mail carrier and Mrs. Yale was the post master. The Post Office was in their house. They were good people. Mrs. Yale was kind of a family doctor and had some medicine. If anyone had trouble they would go to her for advice. We had a cow which was bitten on the front leg by a rattlesnake and the leg swelled up badly. The cow couldn't walk, so I went to Mrs. Yale and she said to take lard and turpentine, half of each, and rub it on the cow's leg several times a day. In a few days the cow was all right again. Mrs. Yale had the Post Office from 1891 to 1908 and Mr. Yale carried the mail for about 12 years, three times a week from Burlington to Goff Post Office, then to Landsman Post Office, then to Yale. That was a long route for horse and buggy days and the roads that we had. Latcr the Yales put in a little store and it would help in busy times, for you wouldn't have to go to town. Mr. Yale was a county commissioner after he quit carrying the mail. In 1909 we got our first daily mail route out of Bethune. Jesse McFarland was our first mail canier with horse and buggy. He had two teams, one at the Ed Stahlecker place where he would change teems every day to make the round trip. That made it better for us. We didn't have to go so far to get the mail. In 1912, I bought the William Yale place and in the spring of 1915, I bought the Sherman Yale place. Our first children were boys and the homestead was too small, and there was no land around us to buy. In 1917 I sold the homestead to our neighbors, Frank Kramer. and moved to the Sherman Yale place where we are still living with our son Carl and family in our own house, if God willing, the rest of our lives. I forgot to mention that we had five cattle ranches of good size - the John Pugh ranch, the Harry Cox ranch, the Bar T, and the Jim Cook ranch, all on the Republican River, and the Ed McCrillis ranch on the Landsman, now the Spring Valley ranch. From 1910 to 1921 this part ofthe country was well settled up and the land plowed up with big and little tractors. A.W. Winegar and F.E. Winegar did their share in bringing people in from the east. This covers the firet 30 years of my life around Burlington, as nearly as I can remember it, and I will come to a close now. Taken from the Burlington Record, July 19, 1951. Mr. Schaal passed away January 19, 1959. by Lila Taylor SCHAAL, TED AND ELMA F598 I was born Mar. 21 L922 in a sod house 77z miles north of Burlington, Colo. was the first child of Jake and Emma (Strobel) Schaal. I have one brother Herbert born Nov. married Teresa (daughter of Harvey and Taken on Ted and Atna's 40th wedding anniversary, Clyde, Teresa, Brian Craig, Braden Schaal, EIma, Ted Schaal; Geneva Babette, and Justin Hudson. 3, 1928. I went to Emerson school 4 miles northwest of our home. Two teachers taught 10 grades in the two rooms. The most kids attending were about 32, some came from quite a distance. Most of the time I rode horseback till my brother started school and there were more kids in this area, then in bad weather about 4 families car pooled. Some- times I had a trapline and caught a few coyotes, badgers and skunks, also shot jackrabbits, skinned these animals and sold the fur. That was the only spending money farm kids could earn. On Sat. I would help my Dad pick corn by hand with a team of horses and wagon. Farming was done altogether with horses until 1926 when my Dad bought a new Fordson tractor with steel wheels. They also bought a new Chev. I ton truck. Then the dry thirties came with dust storms. We still used horses to cultivate corn and pull the header barges beside the header in the wheat harvest. I remember driving the header barges when I was so small they put a box in the wagon for me to stand on. The teams of horses had more knowledge of where they were suppose to go then I did or I couldn't have handled them. I was 14 when my mother died, Oct. 13, 1936. I completed the 10th grade at Emerson the following spring. After that I stayed at home and helped my Dad full time on the farm. By 1939 we got our first combine, a M&M pull type. All the grain was unloaded by hand with scoop shovel, into grain bins on the farm. In 1945 I was inducted into the Army, first in the infantry, then transferred to MP duty. I received my Honorable Discharge and was glad to get home. On March 2,L947 I married Elma Grnmm, at her parents home, by Rev. Macon. We moved to the Camp place 3/+ miles from my home. We lived in a little white frame house. Had no running water, no phone, or electricity. We got R.E.A. in 1952. In 1959 we built a brick house and had electricity and running water. Geneva Louise was born Feb. 10, 1949. Clyde Joseph on Nov. 1, 1951. They went to Emerson school till 1959. Then the country schools consolidated with the Burlington school and the school bus picked up the children. ln 1954 Ted's Dad had surgery, then we did all the farming with two tractors. No baby sitters, so we made the pickup into a covered wagon for the two children to play in and be in the field where we worked. We also had a good dog that stayed with them. The fifties were dry years, also dust storms. We bought baby holstine calves and fed them on a bottle. We milked about 13 cows by hand, separated Jean Brenner). They have three sons, Brian, Craig, and Braden. They live on the place where Ted was born but in the new house Grandpa Jake built in 1959. Elma was born May 16, 1923 in a four room adobe house. where her brother Lawrence lives now. Her parents are the late Gottlieb and Lydia (Stutz) Gramm. I have three brothers; Loyd, Lawrence and Edmund, one sister Esther Corliss. I went to Prairie View School twelve miles north of Bethune. I remember some of the dark dust storm clouds coming up and the teacher would dismiss school. We would run the 1-% miles home trying to beat the dust storm. This was during the dirty thirties. Many farmers lost their farms, then had farm sales and moved to the western states to try to make a better living for their families. For fuel and heat in the homes it was wood stoves but wood is scarce in this country so people bought coal and burned corn cobs. I remember the family going to the pasture with a team ofhorses and wagon pick up cow chips to heat our home. For entertainment we sang around the piano and played g'mes around the big kitchen table. On Sunday the family went to the Congregational Church 11 miles north l miles east of Bethune. That is where we still go, now known as Hope United Church of Christ. In Dec 1946 I was working at the Montezuma Hotel in Burlington, Co. During the night it burned. I saw the roof go down. All our belongings burned, but everyone got out. It was rebuilt into apartments and stores. We have continued farming and cattle ranching, upgrading our cow-calf herd that we and our son Clyde have. We have stayed with dry land farming and have had to get newer and bigger machinery and tractors to raise feed for our cattle and wheat for grain. We thank God for the good health we have. We'll enjoy doing things on the farm as long as our health permits. by Ted and Elma Schaal SCHAAL, WILLIAM AND LEONA F599 As the New Year dawned in 1899, William Fredrick was born to Matthew and Eva (Baltzer) Schaal. At a very young age Bill, "batched" and herded cattle on the open range. As a young man, he worked for many of the cattle ranches. In 1920, he married Leona Sharp. Leona was born at Jasper, Missouri and was raised near Kansas City, Kansas. After attending two years of college, she cnme to Colorado to teach school. One year, she taught school north of Bethune. After Bill and Leona were married, they ] �and August, rode in the cars. The cars were parked on the siding at Muskogee and unloaded there. The parents with daughter, Clara, and son, Kenneth came in a Model T. Ford. It took two days to make the trip and they were plagued with flat tires on the trip. The house they moved into was a small house with no modern conveniences. The house was not far from the siding where the cars were parked. Clara and Kenneth were very disappointed in their new home. In Nebraska they had a nice house which was a modern home with inside plumbing. The morning after they arrival they woke up to a raging blizzard. Henry and Anna Scheierman moved to the First Central Community in 1926. Henry lost the land he had purchased in the economic crash of 1929 and the drouth of the 1930's. He Bill and family members branding cattle. The branding irons were heated in the topsy stove in the background. lived on a farm north of Bethune until the summer of 1926, when they bought a farm 10 miles south and one mile east of Bethune, where they lived and raised their children. Seven children were born to William and Leona Schaat Wilma, Gladys, Jeanne, Donald, Betty, Shirley and Virgil. Donald passed away at the age of nine months. Bill and Leo raised sheep for many years and always had a herd of cattle and many horses. In the early years of their farming, it was necessary to have several horses for farming. To do the wheat harvest, it would take 6 horses to pull the header and two horses for the header barge. Later, the wheat would have to be threshed. 'The threshers are coming' meant the women folks hurried always managed to make a living by milking cows, keeping hogs, and by churning butter to sell and selling cream. In 1940 they moved near to Stratton, and in L942 they purchased a home in Stratton. Henry passed away at Longmont, Colorado on October 25, L943. Anna continued living in Stratton until she broke her hip in the mid 1960's. After a stay in the hospital at Burlington, she moved to Grace Manor Jack and Lois Schafer Oct. 25, 1986. SCHEIERMAN FAMILY F60l Nursing Home where she spent the last years of her life. She passed away in late August 1971. In October ofthat year she would have been 100, but she never wanted to be 100. by Mabel Scheierman around baking pies in the wood burning stove on a hot summer day. This was before the time when every home had a deep freeze so this meant catching a fat hen to bake or some young frying chickens. William and Leona Schaal retired and moved into Burlington in 1972. SCHEIERMAN GARNER FAMILY F602 Kenneth Scheierman came to Kit Carson County at the age of 6 years with his parents by Shirley Matthies in the spring of 1922. He enrolled in North Pious Point with Leonard Calvin as the SCHAFER, JACK AND LOIS F600 Jack has been a life time resident of Yuma County, with farming and community work as his main interest. After his wife's death he married Lois Henry. Jack enjoys his large flock of peacocks and their fascinating ways. Lois likes to cook and give of her time to family and friends. Lois compiled a family cookbook for the Corliss family which she really enjoyed. Jack and Lois like to divide their time between their family and traveling. Their children are Douglas Schafer, Jaklin Schafer, Clifford, Gay and Kendyl Henry. Leroy, Cindy, Nicholas and Daniel Henry, Melvin, Peggy and Amber Henry, Robert and Martha Henry Maxey, Jamie and Jeffrey Kroll. Jack Arnold was born to Clyde and Stella Mae Allen Schafer on July 19, 1928 at Wray, Colorado. Lois Marie Corliss Henry was born to Sherman Henry and Grace Messing Corliss on August 9, 1935 at Burlington, Colorado. Jack and Lois were married at Burlington, Colorado on October 25, 1986. They make their home North East of Kirk, Colorado. by Lois Schafer teacher. The school was located a quarter of a mile from their first home. Five years later Henry and Anna Scheierman. Henry and Anna Scheierman were German Russian immigrants. They were both born in Russia. Henry's family came to America first settling in south central Nebraska. Mr. Scheierman helped the Thaut family come to America. Henry was engaged to be married but was jilted a few days before the wedding was to be. Mr. Scheierman and Mr. Thaut decided their children Henry and Anna should marry. They were married September 19, 1892 at Hastings, Nebraska. They had ten children. but two of the ten died as infants' The Scheiermans came to Kit Carson County because their five sons all wanted to farm. They Iived on a small farm near Sutton, Nebraska, and there was not much available farm land in that locality. Land was much cheaper in Kit Carson County, Colorado. Henry started buying land in Kit Carson County in 1919 from Joseph A. Collins, a realtor. Henry was a horse and mule buyer in Nebraska, and he shipped several car loads of horses to Colorado as payments on land. In 1922 they moved to Colorado by immigrant cars. They loaded one car with household items and another car was loaded with 8 mules and some milk cows. Sons, Herbert Kenneth and Mabel Scheierman. �the family moved to the First Central School District where he finished grade school and high school graduating in 1933. Kenneth had perfect attendance which meant he was not absent or tardy for seven years. Kenneth recalls that in 1936 money was short. In September he and Vaughn Taylor decided to catch skunks and keep them alive until the furs would be at their prime, about the middle of November. They sold them at that time to Clarence Collins for $.45 each. They tried to get $.50, but he wouldn't give them any more. Both mothers were glad to see the project go. Spending money was also received by picking up bleached bones offthe prairies and selling them. Times have really changed in values of land. Kenneth started to farm on his own in 1936. The first land he purchased was the George Hodge place which he purchased for $2.50 an acre in 1940. He has continued farming in the area south of Stratton. Ken's first marriage ended in divorce in 1951. He was awarded custody of his small daughters, Beverley and Betsy. In 1952 he married Mabel Garner who was a native of this county. She was born on her parent's ranch north of Stratton, attended grade school at Solid Center 7 years. She rode a horse to school which delighted in dumping operation for about 35 years. Checking baby calves has been one ofthe highlights for them each spring. Kenneth also says there is nothing prettier than a nice green field of wheat in the fall and early spring. Kenneth has had a goal to leave the land in as good or better shape than he found it. by Mabel Scheierman SCHEIERMAN, HERBERT FAMILY F603 {_ 1 -e ffi- \ 1936. After graduation she attended Business College in Colorado Springs for six months, and then began working in The First National Bank in Stratton. One of Mabel's earliest recollections was the time she was lost and the neighbors gathered to help search for her. Her Grand- home and put them in a pen, and they needed to do the evening chores so told Mebel to go look at the chickens while they milked. Evidently she had not remembered them bringing them home as her uncle found her late at night on the prairie Iying down with her dog. She remembers going home to a 1':r. a Herb and Vena Scheierman, 1937; Eleanor and Shirley in 193?; Herbie and Lynn, 1944. .'. --.,; tlii;',r, house full of people and being made over by everyone in their relief to have her safe at home. The Scheierman's lived in Stratton for 7 years, but in 1959 built a new ranch style house at the farm and moved to the country. Even though they lived in the country, they continued to be community minded. KenL neth served his church as a member of its i? Board of Trustees for forty years. He served i the Stratton Equity Coop Ln its Board of ,/ Directors for 24 years. He even tried politics ) and was elected County Commissioner on the I Republican ticket in IE6 and served five consecutive terms making a total of 20 years. Mabel has served her church as treasurer for 45 years and has been active in many other roles in the church. She enjoyed a number of years serving on the state level the Women ofthe Church ofGod. She served as secretary, president and missionary education director. She also served on the National Board of the Women of the Church of God and served on the Executive Committee so she flew to Indiana three times each year for these meetings. She to served the Republican party as Vice Chairman and then Chairman. Kenneth and Mabel have really enjoyed the cattle and have operated a cow/calf Vena as she cared for the two girls and often suffered from gallbladder attacks. In the fall of 1937 there was no grass or feed for the cattle so Herb and Vena and the girls moved to Denver. They lived in an upstairs apartment on Kalamath Street. Herb went to drycleaning school and later rented a drycleaning shop on East Jewel. They lived in an attached apartment. Herb did the pressing and Vena the hand finishing. Each year as spring came around Herb would dream of the farm. In the spring of 1939 they moved to a place 2 miles east of Stratton on Highway 24. (Vena didn't want to move away from electric lights and running water.) They lived there 3 days place livable and 3 tramps came - thefirst day.wasn't the They moved into Stratton to Herb custom farmed. A son Herbert Lee was born Sept. 11, 1939 in Stratton. In November 1939, Herb and Vena bought her parents' high school in Stratton and graduated in er's home. Her parents had brought them take out to Vena. He had a rubber tired wagon. These were long lonely weeks for what is now the Pansy Thomason house. her many times but no broken bones. When she didn't ride, she walked. She attended mother Hampton had given her some bantam chickens which had been at her Grandmoth- milkhouse. He had his own milk cows and would take the cream to Cheyenne Wells or First View and sell it and buy groceries to In 1947 Herbie and Lynn were walking under the eaves in the rain, needed another rain hat, so Herbie made hers by tying a washpan on her head. Herbert Scheierman and Vena Hughes were married October 12, 1931 at McCook, Nebraska. The remainder of that winter they made their home with Vena's parents, Harve and Rosa Hughes, 11 miles S.E. of Stratton, Colorado. The next spring they rented and moved to the Charlie Geist place 23 miles So. of Stratton in Cheyenne County. Herb farmed and ran cattle. The cattle roamed over a wide area it was all open range. - asLou A daughter, Shirley was born there on Sept. 11, 1932 and another daughter, Eleanor Sue on Nov. 2, 1936. During the "dirty thirty's" Herb took the cattle to pasture 12 miles south of First View, Colo. where there was better grass. He rented pasture from Bob Geary and lived in their homestead and moved onto it. It had a large two story frame house with running water (cold only) and a "path". In later years they remodeled the house, including hot water, electricity, a bathroom and finishing the upstairs. They also built a two car garage with a milk house, a new barn and cattle shed. They also added 11 more quarters of land to the 2 they bought from Hughes. Shirley attended Kindergarten in Denver and first grade in Stratton. Then she went to East Bethel for second grade. She and Eleanor then walked 1-3l miles to West Bethel until 1945 when the family lived in Stratton that winter to care for Vena's father. From then until the fall of 1950 when the school buses began picking up the country kids, Herb and Vena took the children into Stratton everyday to school 22 miles roundtrip, morning and evening. The years that followed their move to the Hughe's homestead were good years in most ways, with the usual number of joys and sorrows hailstorms and good crops - good and bad-cattle prices and too - dirt storms much rain. Another daughter, Ruth Lynn was born on August 5, 1943. In thinking back over those years many incidents come to mind. Some of these follow. (From here on the elder Herbert will be referred to as Herb and the younger as Herbie) One day each week Vena took the children to Louis and Helen (Deakin) Adkins. Vena did kitchen work for Helen in exchange for Shirley's piano lesson. Herbie was about 2 years old, being very good, standing by a low window watching the cattle. No one saw him take a wick from a "Daisy" fly killer which was behind the curtain. Soon he became violently ill. Vena took the children home and laid him on a blanket under a shade tree where it was cool. Eleanor was sent to the chicken house for eggs and Shirley to the house for milk Vena felt that he had been poisoned. She wrapped a towel around him and began forcing eggs and milk down him in a few minutes Helen's car came -speeding up the hill. She had found that the "Daisy" fly killer had been disturbed and the wick was gone. Immediately Herbie was rushed into Stratton to Dr. Keen where he and his nurse, Mrs. Borders, gave him weak �on her name was Cannibal. Every gate and barn door had to be tied or a snap put on it eggs had diluted the poison and saved his life. After going back home, Herbie was laid on the or Cannibal would open it and get out and let the cattle out. When Aunt Wilsie was teaching the girls to knit, Herbie knit a scarf for Herb said, "There's no sense waving goodbye to them; they're going along". So John just let them crawl on himself. (Guess he didn't appreciate Herb's humor). Later, when they were in a field shocking feed (miles from anyone) John asked, "Mr. Scheierman, where cows. Cannibal. Lynn about age 8 and Herbie age 12 were riding the horses in the pasture, making them jump the creek. Lynn's horse tired of the warm while he went to the house for help. The doctor put the arm in an airplane cast. One day Herb said to Vena, "Don't look now, but perfect record; you've been late every morning". Vena was thankful for the good, Iocal help that Herb hired. Clarence Brown mustard water and kept him for observation for several hours. Dr. Keen said the milk and straw in the barn, Shirley and Eleanor watching him, while Vena helped milk the Another time, Vena, the kids and the dog started up thru the field in the car to get the mail. About % mile away from home the car died and couldn't be started. It refused to run. They all got out, walked the remaining 3/a mile, got the mail and walked back home. When Herb came home, Vena told him the car had quit and he said, "Are you out of gas?" Right away Herbie, age about 5, spoke up, "Oh, no, I filled it." Herb asked how he he got the filled it. Herbie showed him - the faucet. garden hose and turned on Needless to say, it took a while to drain the water from the gas tank. When Shirley was in second grade she attended East Bethel school which was 4-Vz miles from home. One day it was so muddy that Herb couldn't go get her in the car and the mud was so deep that the horse became exhausted and wouldn't go anymore. So there was no way to go get Shirley. Herb was sure the teacher would take her home with him but Vena worried that he would leave her at Herb would alone, thinking the schoolhouse be there soon to get her. Mr. Patterson, the teacher, lived at the George Hodge place two miles from the school. He did take Shirlev she remembers how hard home with him it was for her to- keep up with his fast pace in the mud. It was a long night for Vena, wondering where Shirley was' Shirley's and Eleanor's experiences riding a horse to school usually met with disaster Iike the time (mentioned in the West Bethel Story) when Marion Maricle waved his lunch sack and scared Clarabell, she dumped them off. Eleanor told Shirley, "I'm crippled for life". So Shirley ran as fast as she could to get help. The only thing crippled was Eleanor's pride. Shirley and Eleanor spent much time playing dolls and paperdolls. They had some bought paperdolls but most were cut from Sears and Wards catalogues. Vena made beautiful dresses for the dolls. As they got older, Shirley preferred to read and embroider. She made beautiful pillowcases, etc. She also helped Vena in the house, while Eleanor, Herbie and Lynn seized every opportunity to escape to the outdoors. Shirley had two parakeets. One of them nibbled on a picture frame and died of lead poisoning - theallother the mourned for its mate by pulling feathers out of its breast. The summers (for Eleanor, Herbie and Lynn) were spent playing with the "Brown Kids". They were the children of Clarence and Catherine Brown. Clarence worked for Herb. Their children were Paul, Vivian, Bruce and Loren. They played "cowboys and Indians", "cops and robbers", rode horses and bicycles and made a playhouse called "Lardy's Cafe". The robbers rode horses while the "bankers" and "sheriff' were on one time Lynn (who was the youngest foot - hence she had to be the sherifO said, as she -ran around the corner of the barn waving a toy pistol "They wobbed another bank." One summer Herbie got a horse (Part Shetland). The first time he tried to get on her she turned around and bit him on the shoulder, leaving a terrible welt. From then game and threw her off. She received a broken shoulder and was suffering from shock. Herbie laid her down on the grass and covered her with a saddle blanket to keep her may one urinate?" Herb replied, "Any ole place you want to." John told Vena, "Mr. Scheierman is sure enthusiastic about this feed hauling". John wasn't so enthusiastic and soon moved on. There were numerous other strange temporary workers. As Herb fired one hired man he said, "You have a Lynn is walking the corral fence". She was walking on top of the 2" corral boards; the worked for them for many years, so did Norma Zogg and in later years, Alfred cast hadn't slowed her down. One of the family pets was a small white dog part Pekinese and part terrier - named FuzzWuzz He lived many years. Another pet was a crow named "Blackie". They snipped Einspahr. his tongue hoping to teach him to talk. He didn't talk, but he did learn to sit on the side of the hammock and ride in the breeze. When the kids played hide and seek, he would fly over the place where each one was hiding' He became fond of eggs, so had to be done away with because he raided the chicken house. When Eleanor and Lynn would get out their miniature doll furniture to play house, Herbie always set up a Second Hand store where they could buy and sell furniture. He always dreamed of having a shop like the one it was a shoe Hubert Hubel had in Stratton - much to and harness repair shop with fascinate a little boy. One of Herb's favorite slang expressions was "Holy Mackerel". After being to a baptismal service at church, Lynn was baptising her doll. She said, "Holy the Father, Holy the Son, and Holy the Mackerel." Another time she and Loren Brown were playing cowboys on a hot day and pretending to "die". Soon Lynn lay down under a tree and said, "Let's die in the shade." As Shirley became high school age she informed Vena that there was no way she (Shirley) could euer get a boyfriend as long as Vena had paper drapes in the living room (they were a fad) and a coal stove in the kitchen. It didn't seem to bother the boyfriends, just Shirley. Eleanor was the accident prone one. It was she who always spilled dinner on her new Easter dress or tore her new jeans crawling thru the fence to get the milk cow. How does a milk cow know when you want to go somewhere and are in a hurry? They always went to the far end of the pasture and leaned on the fence to get as far away from home as possible. Another aspect of the farm life was the various temporary hired men that showed up. The family often wondered where Herb could find such "odd" creatures. One shaved his head and took whole pieces of chicken off the platter to feed his dog. Vena put a stop to that, fast. He also ate gravy on his chocolate meringue pie. Another was an Indian named John. He was direct off the reservation and evidently didn't know much about a farm. His hair was jet black and very oiled down. The kids and Vena were afraid of him. He ate lots of salt on his pickles. One day as Herb and John were going to the field, there were many flies inthe pickup cab, John was waving his hand trying to keep the flies off of himself. During the early years, Herb and Vena milked as many as 19 cows. Often Venawould have them all milked by the time Herb came in from the field. One particular morning when Herb went to the barn, a stray Tom cat had killed the baby kittens. Herb killed the Tom cat and lined all the dead cats up in a row just inside the barn door. When Vena opened the door to help milk, there lay the dead cats. Needless to say, she wasn't very happy with Herb. After milking, Herb and the kids loaded the dead cats into "Bobby", the pickup, and headed up thru the pasture to dispose of them. On the way a rabbit jumped up and the dog gave chase and ran in front of the pickup and Herb ran over him. So they just threw the dog in with the cats and hauled them all away. A special family tradition is spending Christmas day with the Whitmore family. Vic Whitmore is Vena's sister. Their family consisted of Floyd, Vic and twin sons, Loren and Doren. In the years since Herb and Vena moved from Denver, they have never missed spending Christmas together. There have been years when sickness or distance kept various members of the families from coming but Vena and Vic have always been there. In 1987 all of Vena's and Vic's families were there including the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren a total of 35 people. The absence of Herb and Floyd who have passed away is especially felt at this time of year. Herb and Vena planned for each of the children to have a college education. Shirley attended York College, York, Nebraska; Eleanor went to Colorado A&M College in Fort Collins, Colo. and received a Secretarial Training Certificate; Herbie went to Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colo. and has a bachelors and masters degree; Lynn attended Westmar College, LeMars, Iowa, where she received her bachelors degree; she has a masters from the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, Colorado. Tragedy struck the family when on September 1, 1963, Herb and his sister-in-law, Mabel Scheierman were involved in a headon automobile accident. Mabel was seriously injured and Herb died later that day. For the next \-t/z years Vena remained on the farm, while renting out the ground. In April 1967 she moved into a new home she designed and had built in Burlington, Co. She is still living there at 1538 Senter, Burlington, Colorado. Vena's family consists of daughter Shirley and husband, Norman Zogg, Goodland, Kansas, and their two daughters, Janet Beth (Zogc), born Dec. 29,1952, and husband Bob �Churchwell, and three children, Clinton Michael, born Sept. 20, L976, Matthew Ryan, born August 11, 1978, and Raelyn Alaine, born July 31, 1981, and Patricia Lynn (Zogg) born Nov. 19, 1957 and husband Jim Dorsch and children Cassandra Ann, born Dec. 11, 1980 and Jared Keith, born Nov. 13, 1982; daughter Eleanor and husband, LeRoy Hern- don, Stratton, Colorado, their son Edwin Dean, born Sept. 6, 1959, and wife Trudy and children Jesse Edwin, born August 21, 1982 and Amanda Lynn, born Sept. 7, 1984, daughter Carol Lou, born April 6, 1963, and daughter Kathryn Sue, born Dec. 4, 1971; son Herbert Lee and wife Verna Lee (Edwards), Fountain, Colorado; and daughter Ruth Lynn Johnson, Castle Rock, Colorado and son Jay James, born Sept. 15, 1975. by Eleanor Scheierman Herndon SCHERR, JOE F604 Married on April 21, 1931 in Collyer, Kansas, Joseph M. and Marcelline M. Scherr headed west to settle south of Seibert, Colorado. Joe was a farmer and rancher by heart and blood but never found suitable work at this time in the area, so the couple decided to try their luck in sunny, hot Arizona. After six months trial period on a large working cattle ranch, the couple decided their hearts lay in Colorado, farming and ranching on their own. In April 1935 with the help of their dear friends, George and Irene Bancroft, a small two-wheeled trailer with all their worldly possessions, thirty-six dollars in their pocket and a precious three year old daughter, Joe and Marcelline Scherr settled thirteen miles north of Seibert and started the Scherr Farm-Ranch. Joe borrowed $640.00 to invest in eight milk cows, a used 10-20 McCormick tractor, and a second hand six foot Sanders one-way. The Scherr farm was on its way to becoming the successful operation it is today in 1987. Joe and Marcelline reared four lovelv children: Patricia Scherr Brock, Madefinl Scherr Mills, Eileen Scherr Woods, and Stanley Joseph Scherr. Sixteen beautiful selling meat to the Denver and surrounding markets. In the early days of the cattle industry in the West, the rancher who had the bottom land along a creek of live water had access to in California, Florida and Indiana. Their Jacob felt the need for better grazing for his cattle and since Denver was growing and the lands extending out from the foothills had grandchildren followed. Today the girls are spread throughout the United States living children, many married with families of their own, also live throughout the States. Stan Scherr, his wife Cindy, and their children, Eric, Tiffany, and Steven, live on the Scherr Farm and continue raising the cattle and wheat that were the love of Joe's life. by Cindy Scherr SCHERRER, JACOB the surrounding hills of lush buffalo grass. already been settled, he looked farther eastward. He and his brother, Alexander, a cattle rancher near Agate, made several trips horseback into this area and found the hills and draws of buffalo grass as high as their horses' bellies. It was a good place to establish a ranch headquarters. To market their livestock they had to be driven a distance to a railroad stockyards and shipped east since the railroad was not built into Kit Carson F605 County until 1887. The Bar-T was a landmark ranch for manv years. It served as a start for many settlers One of the earliest cattle ranches in what walled barn built by T.J. Conger, a stone mason, for hay storage and protection from winter storms. The wooden part of the barn burned in the 1930s but the rock wall still Bar-T is now known as Kit Carson County was located in the northern end of the county along the Republican River and Landsman Creek. It was the Bar-T known for the brand Often the bar went over the back of the -T. critter with the T below on the right flank. A 5000 acre ranch, it was established in the early 1880s by Jacob Scherrer. It was a busy working ranch and source of employment for many pioneers and early settlers to this area. Born in Alsace-Lorraine in 1838, Jacob came to America with his parents when he was nine years old. They first settled in Iowa and started farming. In the late 1850s he started out on his own and made his way to the west and settled in Boulder, CO. He started his own freight company which provided meat and provisions to the mining camps in Colorado and Utah. He was also engaged in cattle ranching in Montana, and before Colorado became a state he was living in Denver and raising cattle, butchering and who could work there. Jacob had a large rock stood for many years serving as a wind break. Jacob planned for his sons to eventually take over the ranch and other homesites were built. One built a large rock house with, of all things, large picture windows that gave a pretty view of the river bottom lands, a cellar under the house, which could be reached from the kitchen, and electric lights provided by its own light plant. He also had built a large rock silo for forage storage. The silo is still standing. The Bar-T was sold by Jacob to his son, Jacob G. Sherrer, in 1911. He kept it until 1925 when he sold it and moved closer to Denver. They wanted to have access to schools for better education of their ten children. Jacob Garfield had maried Annette Milhoan in Burlington in 1908. Annette also ran the Hermes post office until it was abandoned. The Hermes post office and store and cream station was located across the river from the Bar-T headquarters. It handled mail for the ranchers in that area and mail being brought by wagon or horseback from Benkleman, Nebraska. The Hermes ranch was purchased by Dr. Elmer Scherrer, Jacob's son, for his son Henry. However, Henry died quite young and so the ranch was sold to William and Helen Scherrer in 1928. The house and barns were actually in Yuma County but much of the ranch land and pasture laid in Kit Carson County. Dr. Scherrer was the son ofJacob Sherrer Sr. and William was the son of Alexander Scherrer. brother to Jacob. There is little trace of the original Bar-T now except for the faint outlines ofthe adobe house, some remains of the rock wall of the barn and, of course, the rock house and silo in the pasture to the east. The rich bottom hay lands were turned into sand bars by the 1935 flood. The channel of the river was changed, cutting into the original hay fields. Most of that has been since covered with growth of cottonwood trees and may in long years to come be reclaimed as farm ground again. The Scherrers had obtained water and ditch rights for irrigation and the Holland Sherr Ranch. 1987. �ditch still has priority over the later irrigators and ranchers above and below the Bar-T. bY Regina WhiPPle SCHICK - ADOLF FAMILY F606 Ernest Frederick Schick and Leah Barbara Adolf were united in marriage on January 7, 1938 at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, north of Bethune, Colorado. Ernest was born to Frederick and Irene LeFevere Schick on August 6, 1914 at Newberg, Oregon. He was baptized in the First Christian Church in Newberg, attended grade school at Fernwood District and high school at Newberg, Oregon. Ernie was active playing football and baseball besides helping his father on the farm and with the prune and walnut drying. I was born to Gottlieb and Barbara Stahlecker Adolf on January 24, t917 and was raised on a farm in the so-called "Settlement", north of Bethune. I attended the first eight grades in a one-room adobe schoolhouse known as "Schaal School' District #22" which was located by the Sam Schaal farm house. During the Dust Bowl Days of the '30's, I moved with my parents, along with mY brothers Gottlieb, Herman, and George and Leona (who were newly married) to Newberg, Oregon in the spring of 1935. My parents had a sale and kept some furniture, etc. which we Ioaded onto a 1929 model Chevrolet truck and our 1932 Chevrolet four-door car. George and Leona took their 1928 two-door Chevy, pulling a trailer with their belongings. So away we went: "Oregon or bust!" My Dad rented a small acreage at Springbrook, Oregon near Newberg. We all found jobs picking berries, walnuts, filberts, and prunes, or whatever jobs were available. I did some housework for $15.00 a month, and later got a raise to$20.00 a month with every other Sunday off. I also worked in the cannery. While I was picking walnuts one day, a young fellow came strolling through the orchard. He stopped and chatted awhile. That stroll led to dating and later to our marriage. In October of 1937, my parents, brothers Gottlieb and Herman, and I moved back to the farm in Colorado. George and Leona stayed in Oregon a year longer, and then moved back to their farm north of Burlington, Colorado. George and Leona, her parents Henry and Lilly Fanslau, and Ernie came back for a visit the following Christmas. Ernie then decided that he wanted to marry and take me back to Oregon with him. We hustled around to get ready for a wedding in less than two weeks. In the meantime, Ernie decided to go into farming with Gottlieb' They rented a farm known as the old Lou Bramier place southwest of Burlington. I went back to Oregon with George and Leona, her folks, and Ernie, to bring back Ernie's belongings and his 1931 black Graham Coupe. On our way back to Oregon, we stopped at Wamsutter, Wyoming for the night. It was a small place with a gas station, grocery store, and a few cabins. We rented two cabins. It was a bitter cold January evening. The water pipes were frozen up and we had to melt snow in order to clean up. We had a few groceries with us so that we could do our own cooking. Leona decided that we would have pancakes for breakfast, but we had no milk. George then melted some snow and Leona made the pancakes with snow water. Our Honeymoon? After a month's stay with Ernie's family, we came back to our newly rented farm for a year. Gottlieb got married to Mabel Gramm in July of that summer. The four of us Iived together on that farm for the rest of the year. My Dad bought a 160-acre farm for us for $800.00, which at one time belonged to my great grandparents, Christian and Fredericka Adolf. It was located across the road from the congregational Church, north of Bethune, Colorado. We had some very tough times during our first few years of marriage. Ernie, not being used to the cold Colorado climate, came down with rheumatic fever and was laid up for part of the first winter. Barbara was born at the home of her Ernest and Leah Schick with children Barbara, Marilyn and Dean on Christmas day 1948 J Errries parents at Newberg, Oregon. it was a very cold, windy day' at the home grandparents, Gottlieb and Barbara Adolf, north of Bethune, Colorado on November 14, 1938. She was delivered by her Great Grandmother Margarette Adolf. She came down with smallpox at three months and lost all of her black hair. The second winter Ernie had an accident while hunting jack rabbits with Gottlieb and Herman one evening after dark. He was hospitalized for two weeks with cgt up knees �and legs, due to running through a barbed wire fence while riding on the fender of a car. Then again, we had lots of cold and snow. No one could travel with the car until the roads were opened up. Besides, we had lost all of our hogs from cholera and calves from blackleg, along with crop failures from dust and hail storms. We managed to hold on with the help of a neighbor, who let us have cows milk for the use of pasture and others who let us use their horses to do our farming. The boys had to break these horses for farming which resulted in some pretty exciting rodeos at times. We had many runaways. At one time, the horses ran through the garden fence and ruined our garden. We also picked cow chips to use as fuel in our potbellied stoves to keep us warm during the cold winter months. Fortunately, we always had plenty to eat for our family. Living on the farm, we had our own meat, eggs, milk, cream, and produce from our gardens. Marilyn was born on March 20, L942 at Burlington, Colorado. Times were beginning to get a little better by then. We later bought another farm, known as the Frank Kramer farm, also located in the Settlement. Dean was born at Burlington, Colorado on June L9, L947. We moved onto the Kremer farm shortly thereafter. In 1960 we started to build a house on 377 Pomeroy Street in Burlington. We moved into it in the fall of 1962, still live in it and "Settlement", north of Bethune. Colorado in May of 1908. My mother, Barbara Stahlecker, was born December 24, L885 in Tripp, South Dakota to Martin and Katherina Stahlecker. She moved with her family to north of Bethune, Colorado at the age of eight. Ernie's father, Frederick Schick. was born November 14, 1886 at Baudle, South Dakota. He moved to Newberg, Oregon at eighteen years. Ernie's mother, Irene Lefaiwe Schick, was born September 5, 1896 in New York to Ernest and Louise Lefaivre. She moved with her parents to Newberg, Oregon in the year 1900. Ernest and Louise were both born in Paris, France. by Leah Schick SCHLICHENMAYER BREITLING FAMILY F607 Comfort stove and make a whole oven full of popcorn. Christina died 31 August 1984. Cooking was done with "stokamich". This was the manure and straw mix that accumulated in corrals during the winter. In the spring it was cut into squares and allowed to minister at Church, Jacob and other elders of the church read from the "Bredight Buch". This contains sermons that were simply read to the congregation. Jacob died on B0 September 1937. Their 12 children were: Emma. Jacob (Jake), William (Bill), Reinhardt (Sport), Bertha, John (Johnny), Alvina, Sechart (Stub), Tafield (Shorty), Garfield (Dick), Harold, and Leona (Sis). by Robert and Linda Coles Jacob Schlichenmayer and Christina Breitling. Jacob Schlichenmayer born 28 November 1873 in Birsula, Bessarabia, S. Russia was the son of Jacob and Margarete Schlichenmayer. In 1889 his family decided to migrate to the United States. Unfortunately for Jacob he was of military age and therefore couldn't obtain an official passport to leave Russia. In order to escape Russia and avoid a military Parents and Grandparents service, Jacob and Gottlieb Bauder obtained forged passports from a Jewish forger. The passport was good enough to get them out of Russia but not into Germany where they were supposed to rejoin their families and continue on to America together. They were held at the border for several days because of the passports and because they lacked the money to pay for their passage to America. The German officials didn't want any penniless immigrants coming into Germany that would be wards of the state. Finally a telegram to My father, Gottlieb Adolf, was born November 3, 1891 at Anaba, Michaelsfeld, South Russia to Wilhelm and Margarette Adolf. He arrived in this community, the money. Unfortunately the money came too late and they were unable to accompany their parents to America. They finally managed to depart on a later ship and joined their parents Barbara and Richard Briggs and - Angela Jennifer Atlanta, Georgia; Marilyn and Fred Tafoya and Fred III Denver, Colo- Lesa rado; Dean and Eulalah Schick - Lori, Lindi, and Lacy Cheyenne Wells, Colorado. remember nights when Christina would put a rag on a broom handle, clean out the a large family. During the absence of a After moving to Burlington, Ernie still Our Family Christina was apparently a very tough lady. She rarely wore shoes, even in winter she usually did her chores barefoot in the snow. She was also a very popular midwife throughout the settlement. Many of the parents and grandparents of today's residents got their first whack on their fannvs wasn't tolerated was egg fights. Jacob always had a large garden that was necessary to raise farmed for a few years. We then rented the farm out, and Ernie drove a school bus for four years and also worked for a couple of Above all, the good Lord has blessed us daughter, Madelyne Anderson. lerated with good humor. One thing that relatives and friends at our new home. We must admit not all our days were tough luck. There were many more good and happy days then bad ones, especially with the children. We enjoyed attending their school activities and taking them on trips. both with good health and a wonderful and loving family. These were the "Days of our Lives," thus far as of July 1, 1986. their llth child, Harold, and the death of their first child, Emma Anderson, in a trolley car accident, Christina began nursing and raising both her own child and her grand- cooking and/or heat. Jacob continued raising their children and was apparently an easy going parent. When the cousins and family would all gather on weekends, fights and roughhousing was to- bitter cold day, with an open house for visit Ernie's mother, brother Harry, and received the patent on his homestead in 1902. Jacob and Christina had 12 children over a period of 28 years. In 1918 with the birth of dry for 6 months before it was used for Our children honored us on our 25th wedding anniversary on January 7, 1963, a sisters Louise, Helen and Rose, and their families along with many old friends. On 30 December 1897, Jacob was married to Christina Breitling, daughter of Phillip Breitling and Karolina Strobel. Jacob became a citizen of the United States and from Christina. Her children will alwavs also still own our farm. farmers. He later got his own truck and hauled beets and grain. After Dean graduated from high school, I worked at the Ben Franklin Store for 13 years. Since our retirement, we have traveled through most of the good old USA, a trip into Canada, and into the Baja of California. We enjoy camping and fishing in the mountains, and also travel to Oregon more often now to in Colorado. SCHLICHENMAYER. WEISS FAMILY F608 R.O., the fourth child of Jacob Schlichenmayer and Christina Breitling, grew up on the Schlichenmeyer home place in 1903. "Sport" was frequently involved in the usual Bremmen contacted their parents to send Robert and Anna Schlichenmaver. �boy games including his favorite baseball. They played on several different diamonds; one was near the present Ruben Meyer place, another was on his brother Bill's place, a third was at the Daffer place north of Stratton. As he grew older another summer occupation was helping his Uncle Fred Schlichenmayer on a threshing crew that traveled throughout the settlement area. Anna the second child of Martin and Lydia (Schmidke) Weiss also grew up on the family SCHLICIIENMAYER, JACOB AND MARGARETE KIENZLE F609 farm and went to schooljust "down over" the hill. School included the usual "3 R's" that was made more enjoyable when they had "cyphering" contests. During recess and dinner time the girls played baseball, basketball and a winter sport called "Fox and Goose". Another pastime included playing Margarete continued to live on their homestead raising their children until 1928 when she had a stroke and was bedfast until her death in 1931. Jacob and Margarete had 9 children, all of who survived to adulthood. They were: Jacob, Christina (Gilruth), Gottlieb, Margreta (Adolf), John, David, Carolina (Boll), Fredrick, and Elizabeth (Metcalf). by Robert and Linda Coles SCHLICHENMAYER, LENA WEISSHAAR F6rO "Jacks" but they used stones instead of rubber balls. A favorite family or school outing was to go to the dunes and arrowhead hunt. Another good place to arrowhead hunt was the "blowouts" that grew rapidly during the 1920's and again in the 1950's. After leaving school Anna had her first job away from home working and living at Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Woods. Sport and Anna met at a "crowd"; these were gatherings held on Sunday nights at different homes where singing, guitar playing, and the like was enjoyed. Sport was the proud owner of a blue Chevy Roadster at the time and he still had the same car on their wedding day of 29 June 1935. Sport and Anna first lived on the "Bill Stutz" place north of Bethune for one and one half years. Their first daughter, Geraldine was born there in 1936. Moving to the "Johnny Weisshaar" place (the old Phillip Breitling homestead of Sport's grandparents" about 1937, three more children were born Phyliss, Lee and Ray. Finally they purchased and moved to the Bill Weisshaar place. Two more children were born there, Dale in 1947, and Linda in 1950. Ray's death in a car accident in 1962 left their family at five children. Sport began farming with horses and later added an Oliver tractor which he bought from his brother-in-law Herman Adolf. He later purchased Internationals owning both an "M" and an "H", Sport quit farming with the help of "horse power" when Page of a team called Dick and Page died. Page's death was a very difficult time for two small boys Lee and Ray. The next years were spent raising children through both good and bad times including the "dirty 50's" and the bad grasshopper years in the early 60's. Sport took special pride in his fine Hereford cattle for many years. He also enjoyed his dairy herd, of which he could say that, there wasn't one of them that he couldn't sit down and milk without benefit of stanchion or hobbles. The children began to leave home to marry and raise their own families in 1956 when "Gerry" was married followed by the rest of the children. Sport continued farming and enjoyed his grandchildren until his death on the 20th of May 1977. Anna continues to live in her home where she does many crafts but takes special pride in her quilts. She has made special quilts for all her children and is presently making one for each of her grandchildren as they graduate. by Robert and Linda Coles -&, Margarete Schlichenmayer nee Kienzle in 1921. Jacob Schlichenmayer was born 3 May, 1848 in Hoffnungstal Cherson, Russia to Jacob and Barbara (Erlunbuch) Schlichenmayer. He was married to Margarete Kienzle on 1? October 1872 in Hoffnungstal. Margarete was born in Hoffnungstal on 16 December, 1852 to Gottlieb and Christine (Hohn) Kienzle. After having grown up and married in the German enclaves of S. Russia, Jacob and Margarete began to consider Immigration to the United States. During the 1870's to 1890's conditions were changing in the German areas of Russia. Many of the families had originally come to Russia as members of religious groups lured by free land, religious freedom and freedom from military service. By 1890 all this was changing and Jacob's sons were becoming old enough to serve in the military. Faced with the imminent draft of their oldest son, Jacob, the family decided to join the migration of German Lutheran families to the plains of the Midwest and Western United States. Choosing the area north ofpresent day Bethune, Colorado, they departed Russia in 1889, because of delays only eight family members traveled together sailing from Bremmen, Germany. Their oldest son. Jacob (born 1873) was unable to accompany the family because he had already reached military age in Russia. After many difficulties and adventures young Jacob eventually rejoined his family in Colorado. Upon arriving in the United States they traveled to the settlement by train in time for the birth ofan 8th child. Fredrick on the 4th of May, 1890. Soon after arriving in the United States, the family applied for a homestead and Jacob applied for citizenship. Jacob lived long enough to "prove up" on his homestead and died in 1900 after the birth of their 9th child. Elizabeth in 1895. Lena Schlichenmayer, celebrating her 100th birthday on June 1, 1986. Magdalena (Lena) Weisshaar Schlichenmayer was born at Talmage, Nebraska, on June 1, 1886. Her parents, John Frederick Weisshaar and Christena Margareta Wilhelm Weisshaar migrated from Germany to the southern tip of Russia. From there they left the village Lichtentaal through the Port of Odessa on the Black Sea in 1885 bound for the United States and settled in Talmage, Nebraska. In 1887 Lena at the age of nine months moved to a farm near Idalia. Colorado with her parents. In 1901 the family moved south to a farm 13 miles northeast of Bethune. The farm had a house on it with two rooms. One room was made ofsod and the other room was made of stone - both being very large. The sod room had the kitchen and dining area in it and also some of the children slept there. It was partitioned off with curtains. The rock room was partitioned off into sleeping rooms with curtains also. The floors were all of sand and dirt wet down to compact them and then swept. Later as the family increased another rock addition was added to the first rock room to be used as another bedroom. Years later an adobe house was built. They also built a barn and granary of stone and a frame �water running through it, milk and butter '.' :, ' llt, ,,f , l .,i1, :*,,, ; ,111' ::if . ri'l,'r$' were stored there. Butchering was done in the winter and hung in a safe place to stay frozen. In order to preserve it for use in the summer it had to be cured by smoking, drying or frying down and then stored in the lard in a large stone jar. No glass jars were available, therefore canning was out of the question. Cabbage was shredded and pressed into stone fr jars to make sauerkraut. Cucumbers and several other vegetables were pickled and stored in stonejars. Corn was dried and stores in sacks then hung on nails in a dry location. The Settlement was nearly all German nationality. Immanuel Lutheran Church was the center oftheir life and was attended every Schlichenmayer family, 1986. Standing L. to R.: Lawrence, Rudolph (Rudy), Vernon, George. Seated: Pete, Lena, and Freda Schaal. granary. Adobe was used for mortar to build the stone buildings. Life was extremely difficult for the family. They had one horse and a neighbor had one. They would work together so they had a "team". They used this team to break the prairie with a plow in order to plant crops and a garden. The women would hitch the team to a wagon to go to the river to wash clothes. They would take barrels along to bring back water for drinking, cooking, some washing, and also for the livestock. Besides the horse, a few cows, some hogs and chickens were added to their possessions. After the crops were harvested the men would leave the women and children on the farm and would go to Denver to seek employment to earn needed cash. As soon as the weather started clearing in the spring they would return home to tend to their farming. There were no trees available, therefore mainly cow chips and corn cobs were burned for heat and cooking. For light, lamps were used that burned coal oil or kerosene which cost about ten cents per gallon. Water was carried in from outside. All water had to be heated on the stove to wash dishes, clothes, and for bathing. For beds, ticking was purchased in town and was sewn into a mattress cover which was then filled with soft corn husks. All sewing was done by hand. Shoes weren't well fitted or particularly well made and not many stockings were owned so the children went barefoot as soon as the weather permitted even to school. Stockings were black or brown and didn't wear well nor Iast long. To make soap, the tallow, cracklings and the lard would be warmed and mixed with lye. This mixture was then cooked until done, then poured into a square pan and allowed to set and dry. After it was dry, it was then cut into squares and used for all types of washing. Fresh foods were available from the garden during the summer but preserving for winter use presented a different side. After the well house was built with a tank inside and fresh Sunday and all religious holidays except for illness or bad weather. Lena married Gottlieb Schlichenmayer on January 20, L907 in the Immanuel Lutheran church and began their married life about three miles northwest of where she grew up. This was on a homestead that was secured on December 9, 1913 under President Woodrow Wilson. Life afforded them many of the same problems as had been met by Lena's parents. They lived in a small two room adobe house until 1915 when they then built a four room adobe house. Both houses still stand although the later one has had rooms added on and is the home of her son, Lawrence. In 1919 a drive-through granary was built and in 1920 a big red barn. In 1916 they purchased their first motor driven vehicle - a Model T Touring car with kerosene lamps in front and rear plus magneta head lights. The rear lamps had red glass. In 1924 a Model T truck was purchased. On Decembet L4, 1929 they purchased their first power washer which was a Maytag. The Guarantee Bond states that the motor or magneta were warranted for one year but the spark plugs were not covered. Up until that time the washing was done in a tub on a washboard and later by a hand-powered washing machine. Lena and Gottlieb became the parents of ten children - Freda (Schaal), Frederick, Hulda (Bauder), Pete, Bernard, Elmer, Lawrence, Rudolf, and Vernon. Gottlieb passed away on September 10, 1946, and as of January 1988, four of her children are still living Lawrence, Rudy, and Vernon. - Pete, She has 11 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren and eight great-great-grandchildren. Pete has been employed as an auctioneer for 54 years. He and his wife, Jean (Messen- ger), reside in Bethune. Rudy lives in Burlington and has been employed by the Yersin's at the Red Front Market for 34 years, besides being a piano and guitar music teacher. Lawrence remains on the familv farm and Vernon is in Nebraska. In 1986 Lena celebrated her 100th birthdav with a reception at Immanuel Lutheran Church. At that time she had been a member of the church for 85 years. In April of 198? following the death of her son, George, she moved to Grace Manor Care Center in Burlington where she celebrated her 101st birthday. by Jean Schlichenmayer Lena's sisters and brothers at her 100th birthday celebration. Seated L. to R.: Mary Weisshaar Adolf, Lena Weisshaar Schlichenmayer, Margaret Weisshaar Stahlecker, Freida Weisshaar Fisher; Anna Weisshaar Adolf, Standing: Freida and William (Bill) Weisshaar, Jake and Carrie Weisshaar, Karl Weisshaar. �SCHMIDKE, SAM AND ANNA HAUSER F6ll Sam Schmidke was born in the Black Sea area of S. Russia in 1848. He married Anna Magdalena Hauser (b. Borodina, S. Russia) whose parents were Christian Hauser and Anna Magdelina Kubler. He and his family were part of a great migration that swept through Europe in the 19th Century. Following the precedent set by Catherine the Great of Russia in the 1760's, Czar Alexander I again invited Germans to settle about the Black Sea on land recently taken from the Turks. He promised the Germans land, religious liberty and exemp- tion from military service, in return for settling this unused land. His recruiting agents were especially successful in Southwestern Germany. Many poor German peasants in Baden, Bavaria, and Wurttemberg, suffering from the ravages of French armies during the Napoleonic Wars, were ready to move. Taking a pair of beasts, a few farm tools, and what little cash they had, they traveled more than a thousand miles to the Black Sea. Having seen armies destroy all other property, they sought land. Land hunger took them to Russia and latter brought them to the Hi-Plains of Colorado, Kansas, the Dakota's and Nebraska. In Russia, the German colonists were determined to remain German, to keep their religion and the German language. They succeeded in their goal but the years in Russia had a major influence on them. Desiring land they became and largely remained farmers, living in one or two street villages and going out each day to farm their land. They suffered considerable hardship in Russia. Their early homes were not much more than huts with windows and they faced many epidemics including cholera, smallpox, measles and typhoid. The "German Russians" didn't become a part of Russian life, keeping contact with their neighbors to a minimum. The father was almost a dictator in their own households; everyone worked hard and education was neglected. By the 1870's and 1880's things were changing in Russia. The Russians were beginning a program of forced as similation beginning by introducing Russian schools taught by Russian teachers. They also began taking away many of the Germans special privilages including their exemption from military service. When faced with these problems plus the lack of land for their children to begin new farms on, the Germans in Russia began to look towards the Great Plains of the United States for new opportunities. In American the Homestead Act and large blocks of land given to railroads made land cheap and inviting. By 1893 Sam and his family had decided to leave Russia and begin the long journey to the United States. The trip began with an overland journey to Bremmen, Germany, followed by crossing the Atlantic ocean on the ship Traster departing April 11, 1893 and arriving in N.Y., N.Y. at Ellis Island on 25 April 1893. After successfully completing the inspections at the "Island of Tears", they began traveling again. This time the destination was North Dakota. Arriving there they again decided to move, this time to Colorado in 1894 where they made their permanent home. In many ways this was not an easy life for contented to stay at home, and when we did go visiting we enjoyed real visits, something which people now-a-days know nothing the new immigrants. About the only thing that didn't change from their Russian homes At first, the wagon was our only means of transportation, Iater we got a two-wheeled road cart and then a spring wagon. I lived with my parents on the homestead until 1914, when I was married to Charles F. was the climate and their religion. While they still tended to congregate in groups of coreligionist in Colorado, just as they had in Russia they could no longer maintain the tight knit exclusive groups they once had. The Homestead Act which required each family to live five years on its own 160 acres effectively destroyed their village culture. In addition, since the land was free to all, they might have an Irishman, Dane or native-born American for a neighbor and this brought change. Compulsory education taught in English and the predominately English- speaking towns forced them to learn English and again introduced new ideas to the young. Almost immediately what was unthinkable in about. Schneider, who came to Colorado in the year 1908. He took a homestead, built a soddy, and lived there with a brother until he made proof and got title to his claim. We went to Kansas and were married and lived there five years. Then we moved back to Colorado, and I kept house for my mother and brother. I am still using some of the pieces of furniture that we used in Illinois, and shipped out here in 1890. We are now living on a homestead taken by one of my brothers in later years. Russia began to happen in America: the settler's children began to marry outside the German community. Dealing with all these changes the death of six of their children in infancy and bad crop years led to the early death of Sam in 1900. Anna continued to live in her home with her younger children until her death on August 3, 1923. Sam and Anna had six children who survived past infancy. Lydia Weiss, Samual, John, Emma Dabbler, Rosina Schaal, and Margaretta Stahlicker. by Della llendricks SCHNEIDEWIND, FREDRICK FAMILY F613 by Robert and Linda Coles SCHNEIDER, MARGARET HAWTHORNE F612 I was born in Durham, England, July 23, 1875, and came to the United States with my parents when five years of age, (1880). We lived fifteen years in Illinois, then decided to come west. Father and my elder brother came out in 1889, and father took a pre-emption, built a sod house, dug a well, and prepared the home for the rest of the family, who came in June, 1890. Seibert was little more than a few shacks, a store or two, a post office, and a depot, but it was where we got our mail and supplies that we did not bring with us. School was held in a little sod school house, that was built on a claim of one of my brothers. We had regulation desks and used books that we brought with us. Our amusements were few. Once in awhile, we would have a church services, which was usually held in the waiting room of the depot. There was no regular preacher, but when a missionary minister or evangelist happened to stop for a day or two, we would enjoy church services. Sometimes, we would have dances in the depot waiting room, or at a home that was large enough to accomrnodate Earl Schneidewind Fredrick John Schneidewind, son of Adolph and Fredrica Schneidewind, was born June 1, 1895 at Feuersville, Missouri. He was baptized and later confirmed in the Lutheran faith April 4, 1909 in the Feuersville Lutheran Church. Mr. Schneidewind lived on a farm near a small crowd. After the school house was Feuersville until 1915 at which time he built, we sometimes had dances there. We moved to Basine. Kansas. Here he met and married Dora Lena Koch worked hard all week to be permitted to ride the work horses on Sunday. Of course, there was plenty of open prairie on which to ride. We did not go out much; folks seemed to be October 22, 1925 in St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Basine. They lived on a farm southeast of Basine until 1934 when thev �moved to a farm near Bethune, Colorado. Later they moved to a farm near Stratton, Colorado, where they remained until they retired and sold the farm, bought a home in Stratton and moved there in Oct. 1967. In August J.971 they sold their home in Stratton and moved into the Burlington Rest Home. Mrs. Schneidewind passed away on January 24.1973. This couple was blessed with one son, Earl Eugene. He attended school at the Nutbrook School. He rode a horse to school. He became very ill, and died in October 1944 of a ruptured appendix. Fred lived to the age of87 years and passed away September 18, 1982. The family are buried in Claremont Cemetery, Stratton, Colorado. by Florence McConnell SCHULTE, JOSEPH AND CLARA suffered pain much of the time. Joe sustained an extremely severe broken leg while riding Peggy and her daughter Shirley and son on the draw-bar of the tractor. The tractor struck a hole in the road causing Joe's leg to slip off the draw-bar and breaking it. Joe was many months getting well. The twins were 15 years old at the time and worked in their father's place. Another time Joe lost his voice when a fire broke out and he yelled and yelled for help causing him to loose his voice for Patricia and husband Dan Witzel reside on a farm east of Stratton and have 4 sons: James, Kelly, Ryan and Scott. Barbara and husband Dave Hornung reside on a farm northwest of Stratton and have 7 children: Danny Fox reside at Haysville, Kansas. Andy, Chris, Brian, Darren, Marci, Greg, and Joni. Chris passed away on June 1, 1986. Yvonne has continued to stay on the farm. several days. Joe keeps busy selling corn, alfalfa, feed and grass seed. He has sold Pop-Up Campers for pickup trucks. Clara keeps busy croche- ting and looking after the family. All the children are married except Larry and Danny. They still make their home on the farm. In the Schulte family there are an excep- tional number of twins. Brother Henry had twin girls, sister Margaret had twin boys, Joseph had twin boys and his son Jerry had twins 1 boy and 1 girl, brother Raymond had twin girls, brother John had twin girls and his son had twins 1 boy and I girl. Brothers by Yvonne Schwieger SCOTT - JANZEN FAMILIES F616 Bernard and Clarence didn't have twins and Joe's sister Sylvana is a nun. F614 by Joe Schulte Joseph Herman Schulte was born on June 11, 1919, one of eight children in Spearville, Kansas. He grew up on the family farm near Spearville. On February 2,1932 Joe enlisted in the Army and was discharged on December 10, 1945. While Joe was stationed in Holstein, Texas he met Clara Richter of Hostyn, Texas. Clara was born on January 5, t921. On June 13, 1945, Joe and Clara were married. Joe was transferred to Cheyenne, Wyoming where they lived until he was discharged. This was the first time Clara had been away from home and she got along fine by keeping busy and finding work. After being discharged, Joe and Clara went to live in Dodge City, Kansas. In April Joe and his bride moved to Kit Carson County to a farm that was known as the W.T. Schaal place. Joe's father had purchased this land prior to Joe's discharge from the service. It consisted ofthree quarters (480 acres) offarm ground 8 miles north and 3 miles west of Bethune, Colorado. Twin boys, Larry and Jerry, were born on August 28,L946. A daughter, Josephene, was born on November 28. 1949 and died in infancy. Another son, Anthony (Tony) was born on December 29, 1950 while they lived on this farm. During January of 1954 the family moved to the Cates or the Leo Dishner farm, located 8 miles north and 3 miles east of Stratton, Colorado. This ground had also been purchased by Joe's father in 1944 for around $80 an acre. Two more children were born to Clara and Joe, Daniel on November 6, 1954 and at last a little girl, Linda, born on November 1, 1956. Joe kept busy fixing up the farm by mending and erecting new buildings and the house on this place making it a nice farmstead. He farmed inigated and dry land crops and feed for his cattle. Livestock was a part of this family's labors. Clara always had chickens and had eggs to sell for years. They also milked and sold cream during those early years. Joe was forced to retire due to emphysema, aggravated by the dust from the farm. Clara has had many health problems and has SCHWIEGER, CHRIS AND YVONNE F615 RusseII and Marilyn Scott wedding 8/16/1949 Chris William Schwieger was born in a sod house 9 miles north and 1 west of Arriba. Colorado in Lincoln County to John Schwieger and Pauline (Geisick) Schwieger. Chris was an only child. His father was born in Cook County, Illinois and later the family moved to Martin County, Minn. He came to Colorado in the early 1920's. His mother Pauline (Geisick) Schwieger was born in Frunk, Russia (a German settlement) and came to the United States in the early 1900's. They settled around Fort Collins, Colorado. When Chris was 2% months old his mother died and he then made his home with an Uncle William Schwieger and Aunt Gertrude (Bolick) Schwieger. William Schwieger came to Arriba in 1904 and homesteaded 4 miles north of Arriba. There Chris grew to man- hqod attending country schools north of Arriba and last years were in Arriba. Yvonne (Quinn) Schwieger was born in Limon. Colorado. She has 3 brothers and 1 sister. Yvonne's father was J.D. Quinn who was born in College Mound, Mo. and came to Colorado in 1919. Her mother was Eva (Cox) Quinn who was born in LaTour, Mo. She moved with her parents around 1914 to Chester, Montana where she finished school and was a school teacher for two years. Then the family came to Limon, Colorado around 1920. Yvonne Iived around the Limon area till 1940 when her family moved to a farm south ofArriba. In 1943 she graduated from Arriba High School. A few years later she was married to Chris and they resided on farms north of Arriba. Chris and Yvonne became the parents of 3 daughters Peggy, Patricia and Barbara. They were all born in the Flagler Hospital in Flagler, Colorado. In 1962 we moved 2 miles northeast of Stratton. Colorado in Kit Carson County and continued wheat farming. Our girls graduated from Stratton High School. Scott farnily Christmas 1972 Steve, Doug and Tim - Marilyn, Russell, Levi T. Scott was born in Oakley, Kansas February 12, 1889 and Ruby Vail was born in Hume, Missouri October 7, 1896. They married in Hume on March 29, 1915. They Iived on a farm there for 2 years, before moving on to Hartford, Ottowa, Michigan Valley, and finally Plains, Kansas, in 1930. Two children were born. Wanda Mae in Hartford, Kansas and Russell in Michigan Valley, Kansas. They both attended schools in Plains, Kansas. Following World War II and Russell's discharge from the Navy Air Corp. late in 1945, Ruby, Tommy (as L.T. was called) and Russell decided to look for some new farm ground. They traveled around several areas, particularly in Colorado. On an overnight stay in Burlington, they made an acquaintance with Walter Hammond, a real estate agent, who showed them around. They were looking for level land and found a farm to their liking called "The Biddle Place" 13 miles southeast of town. They moved early in 1946; Tommy and Russell farming together for several years raising wheat, feed and cattle. Russell used to drive by the Janzen's, �until his death in March of 1983 at the age little Cinderella girl who was always busy with the meals and mending and commanding Edna and Waneta to help out with cleaning the house. Our mother went to live with the Lord when Ruth was only 9 years old. This left a great responsibility of taking care of her two Nebraska. They had 4 children all born on the of 94. Russell and Marilyn still reside in Burlington as do their sons, Steve and Tim. Steve married a Burlington girl, Darlene Misner. Tim also married a Burlington girl, Debbie Beechley. They live on Tommy's farm with their two sons Nicholas and Michael. Russell also farms 3 miles South of Smoky Hill School house. Another son, Doug, and family younger sisters. She learned to cook real well and did a commendable job taking care of the home for about three years. Then Dave farm, Marilyn, Vernon, Francis, and Gracie. Iives in Houma, Louisiana. married Goldie Binkly. Dave often said he also new to Burlington and neighbors 2 miles west, in his new'46 maroon Chevy on his way to town. Marilyn was in college in California at the time and home in the summers. Marilyn's parents were Nicolie P. Janzen born June 9, 1905 at Henderson, Nebraska and Amanda Flaming born January 23, 1911 at Jansen, Nebraska. They were married January 26, 1928 near Elsie and Madrid, They lived and farmed there until 1941 when they moved to Reedley, California and later to Fresno, California. Nick was also an ordained minister. In 1945, on a trip back to Nebraska, Nick and Bobby (as Amanda was called) stopped in Burlington, where they heard about Albert Kirschmer, who was building a huge elevator in town and was looking for someone to manage a large farm southeast of town. In February of 1946 the Janzen family moved, except for Marilyn who was finishing high school in California that spring. She attended college in California. She and neighbor Russell Scott dated in the summers and were married on August 16, 1949. They began farming on their own soon after, renting land southwest of town and buying their first farm, known as "The Heinz Place" 8 miles east of Burlington in 1952. Three sons were born in Burlington, Stephen, Douglas, and Timothy. Steve married Darlene Misner, a local girl. Doug married Mary Chauvin from Houma, Louisiana where they reside. Tim married Debbie Beechley, a local girl. Steve and Tim farm south and east of Burlington. Tim and Debbie have 2 sons, Nicolas and Michael. Mary and Doug have 2 children, Amy and Timmie. Ruby Scott passed away in 1951, Tommy Scott in 1983, and Nick Janzen in 1951. Bobby and the rest of the family moved back to California in 1950 where they still reside. by Russ and Marilyn Scott SCOTT, LEVI F617 Levi or "Tommy", as he was usually called, and Ruby Scott, with their son Russell came from Plains, Kansas in late 1945 in search of farm land. Russell had just been discharged from the Navy Air Corp following World War II. They bought a farm in the Smoky Hill Area known at that time as the Buettel Place. They moved to the place in the early part of 1946. Ruby became involved in a Home Demonstration Club with ladies of the community. Russell enjoyed the Smoky Hill Gun Club. They often attended functions at the school house. Ruby died in Feb. 1951 of a heart attack. Russell married a neighbor's daughter Marilyn Janzen. Marilyn's parents came from California about the same time as the Scotts came from Kansas. Russell and Marilyn were married in August 1949. They rented a farm and moved southwest of Burlington. Some years later Tommy married Hulda Koenig from Hutchinson, Ks, and they continued to live on the Scott farm. They later moved I mile east on to the Elmer Rose Farm, which they later purchased. In the mid 60's they moved into Burlington and Russell farmed for his father. Huldah passed away in 1974 and Tommy remained in Burlington by Mrs. Ted Eberhart raised 6 children and a young wife, since they had three children within the next ten years. The first was LaVilla Fern. Four years later a son was born, and named Glenn David. SEALOCK, DAVID B. F618 Dave B. Sealock came from Jennings County, Indiana, near a little town called Scipio. He had four sisters and two brothers. He came to Denver in 1908 and worked on a dairy farm for two years. Then he and his older brother, Bill, decided to file a claim on a homestead. They started out early one nice day in March or April, across country, with a team and wagon. They headed for Stratton, which included a store, a post office, and a few other places of business. The nice day didn't last long before they ran into a howling blizzard. so bad they couldn't see where they were going. They had to keep going to keep from freezing to death. Finally they came to a small town which looked like heaven to them, and they were warmly accepted by the town of Bennett. Dave and Bill waited out the blizzard and were on their way again in a couple of days, still trying to pick their way across country and deep drifts of snow. They arrived at Bill's homestead site, and started building a little house of adobe blocks. When spring came they plowed a spot of ground and planted their first crop of potatoes. The newly plowed virgin soil was rich. Next came time for turning and plowing the sod and preparing it to plant corn. It was a long and hard task, but at the end of the day Dave walked across the grass Iand for two miles north to his homestead on the Republican River, just 12 miles north and 2 west of LaVern Janane was the last to join the family. Dave and family moved to Stratton after surviving the great flood on the Republican in 1935. There we lived until 1952, when we moved to Colorado Springs. Dave was a wonderful Christian man and he went to meet his Maker, the Lord Jesus, September 30, 1977, and is greatly missed by his entire family, but we can't be sorry for his great promotion to a Heavenly Land he had looked forward to for many years. Ruth married Harold McFatridge and they had three children: Alvin, Eileen, and Jack. Edna married Roland Hernbloom, and they had one son, David. LaVilla married Wayne Clark. They had five children: Danny, Bonnie, Lonnie, Shelly, and Randy. Glenn married Sarah Kellough. They had three girls: Cindy, Sarah Beth, and Kathleen. LaVern married Dan Lawrence and they had 3 children: Ronnie, Jannett, and Dean. by Edna Hernbloom SEAMAN - HENRY FAMILY F6l9 Stratton. There he built a small shack, started farming, and looked for a suitable gal to become his wife and helpmate. The country was very sparsely populated, and he had to look far and wide for entertainment to go to. Seven years later Dave met and fell in love with a beautiful neighbor girl who lived about 6 miles away. Her name was Ethel Thomas. In the meantime, another family had built a two story house across the road from Dave's little humble abode. He purchased this and there he took his beautiful wife and set up real housekeeping. About a year later a pretty blue-eyed blonde baby girl, whom they named Ruth May, came into their lives. Then the next year they were all blessed with another blue-eyed baby girl with auburn hair and they named her Edna Martha. Last but not least, here came a redhead with big blue eyes named Waneta Elaina. One Sunday morning their mother dressed the 3 girls up as they were going to church as usual. As Waneta came out of the house we saw she was all black from her chin to her toes because she had layed flat across a black boiler bottom that had been heated over an open flame of the kitchen stove. Ruth was the Avirene and Earl Henry's house homesteaded by William Seaman. William Seaman and Emma Florence McHenry, both natives of Missouri were united in marriage on August 5, 1890. Eight children were born to them in Missouri. They were Pearl, Chester, Dave Emmett, Orval, Florence, Avirene and Bertha. In 1906 the family moved to Oklahoma. They did not stay but a few years there. It seemed the children were sick much of the time. Emmett. the fourth son died with diptheria in Oklahoma. Father heard of homestead land that could be taken in Colorado. He left immediately to see about it. He filed on land 16 % miles north and 1 mile east of Vona in the summer of 1909. It was not long until father and mother began to prepare to move. They decided to ship some of the necessary things by railroad car. Among the things they �pulled by two horses and a boy at the back to guide the plow. Rattlesnakes were also plowed up. No church was near home. We went to Sunday school at schoolhouses. The vehicle we went in was a two-seated spring wagon drawn by two horses. Our school was two miles west of home. On nice days we walked. For lunch we took bacon and jelly sandwiches. Some days we took a little fruit. If a storm came up, some of the older brothers would come after us in a wagon. In 1916, a school was built near the Seaman home. It was made of cement. The neighbors did most of the work. The first teacher was Helen Klassen. I finished the eighth grade there. Our neighbors in the early 1900's were these families: Alva Crist, Elmer Finley, Ira Crist, and Ernest Elsey. These families visited each other quite often as there weren't places to go except for a few school programs. My grandmother Permelia McHenry also homesteaded land joining my fathers. A little one room house was built there. My sisters, Florence, Bertha and I took turns staying with her at night. Water was hauled to her in a barrel. After she proved up, the little house was moved next to our home. It is still there. Grandma died October 20. L520. Now just a little about my life. I taught school 5 years. The first one was West Bethel, south of Stratton. The year was 1920. There were 16 pupils ranging from first grade to eighth grade. I married Earl Eugene Henry who originated from St. John, Kansas, on December 22, 1925. We spent most of our married life in my old house which we bought in 1939. There were 640 acres of land at $5.00 an acre. All together I lived there 60 years. Earl and I lived together for 49 years. He died suddenly of an heart attack, January 10, L974. Our children are Lois Ione Grauerholz, who lives in New York State, and Ralph Orin who died with leukemia on May 17, 1977. Roy Robert lives near Joes. Colorado. Alma Jean Hutton lives near Kirk, Colorado, and a niece, Norma Ellen Pickerill, Iives in Littleton, Colorado. I raised her from when she was Earl and Avirene Henry and children, l. to r. Ralph' Roy, Lois, baby AIma and Norma. brought were two horses, some machinery, furniture, which wasn't much, beds and ber 4, 1984, looks about like it did 60 years ago. bedding, dishes, and cooking utensils, twelve hens and one rooster and a black and white dog which we called Lee. Two boys went with the railroad car to look after the things. The rest came on the train. Sometime in the near future a well was drilled by Charley Packer. Horses were used for power. A windmill was soon put up. The drinking water was caught in a barrel. Then 1909, my seventh birthday. We stayed in a hotel a night or two. Some one told father, a widow by the name of Mrs. Winn, had a sod one room house we could use. We stayed there several months. It was 20 miles north erected, a few buildings were built, including an adobe barn and chicken house which were used several years. A large barn was built in 1925 and several other buildings, which are Walter Devores. boys found work to do. That helped some. We We arrived in Seibert on November 26, of Seibert, close by the Frank Maag's and In the spring of 1910, a two room house was built. It was made of lumber and covered with black tar paper. The lumber was hauled from Seibert. In a few years two rooms were added to it on the east. The house is 30 feet by 30 feet with a four way roof and weather boarding put all around. Father had carpenter Mr. Charley George and Bud Johnson to oversee the work. This house today Decem- the water was carried to the house in buckets. After the house was built and windmill still there. It was hard going for a time. Two of the ate jackrabbits some. But it wasn't too long until we had meat, milk and vegetables. We burned cow chips for heat. Finally we could get coal. It had to be hauled from Vona with team and wagon. For years our light was from kerosene lamps. The chimneys had to be cleaned every day. Some of the ground was plowed up to be planted. It was done with a one furrow plow, three weeks old. This old house has many memories to me. There were three deaths in it, four funerals, four weddings and seven births. Four of my children were born in it with Dr. Hewitt attending. I said good bye to it August 22, 1977. by Avirene Seaman llenry (See photo next page.) �Winter of 1889, a total of 130 dozen eggs and 138 pounds of butter were sold. One winter in the Nineties, corn was so cheap that is was used for fuel instead of coal. which was "high". The old diary also mentions some gay social gatherings in those pioneer days, among them were spelling schools, visiting at the Sigafoos home, dinner at Johnny Fleming's and later there was Bible School and "preaching" by Reverend Lead at the Wallet school. Very often there was square dancing on Saturday evenings, at which the whole !t *I ? countryside was represented. At these gay dances the music consisted of mouth harps, a fiddle and perhaps an organ. by Wm. A. Davis SHAW FAMILY The Bethel School south and east of Stratton, 1920. SELENKE FAMILY housekeeping. On his claim, he proceeded to F620 build a large one-room sod house, which boasted of a floor, a ceiling of wood and Andrew Selenke married Frances Zieglet June 18, 1929 in Park, Kansas. They resided in Grainfield, Kansas until they moved to a farm northeast of Flagler in April 1946. They retired in 1952 and moved to a 5 acre place on the north side of Stratton. Andy was born in Odessa, Russia on Oct. L4,1904, and moved to the USA when he was 4 years old. He died in Sept. 1980. Frances was born April 11, 1906 in Collyer, Kansas and died in Dec. 19?5. Both of them died at plastered, whitewashed walls, unusual features for a sod house in those days. There, with his team of mules and the plow, he broke the virgin sod and planted a crop. That fall it was harvested and sold, providing enough their home in Stratton. F622 There followed a succession of good and poor years during which the herd of cattle grew little by little. About 1897, the Shaw's wished to be farther from the Kansas line in order to take advantage ofthe free range laws; so the family of four, including Minta and Ruby, moved seven miles farther into Colo- rado, Sec. 6-8-42. Here on the windswept prairies they built a home. They worked and live in the home previously built by Mr. toiled through drouth as well as prosperous years, rearing a family of four children: Minta, Ruby, Fred, and Jessie. In 1907, Ruby and Freddie died ofscarlet fever leaving their surviving family to carry on. Some good years following and prices increased. Mr. Shaw's major operations Shaw. This house, under her capable hands, was soon converted into a real home. tion of cattle and mules. In 1917, he sold money to enable him to return to his old home in Illinois about a year later. There he married Cora Jane Lyman on February 23, 1888. Together they returned to Colorado to included diversified farming and the produc- Frances was a homemaker and loved to The first summer they were married, "Sommy", as Mr. Shaw was called, and a neighbor drove his mule team to Denver (a in the Kit Carson County area. He kept 4 or 5 day trip) to work on the state capitol gradually grown to several thousand acres, the family resided until 1918, when they moved to Burlington and built a new home Both ofthem worked hard to raise their 12 children - Edmund Selenke, Sister Regina Selenke, Pius Selenke, Serena Simon Best, mules was overworked and too heavily loaded with rock, so he quit the job and went to Erie. There he worked on a farm until the early fall of 1889. when he returned home. The follow- Selenke, Rita O'Hayre, William Selenke, Pauline Pesek, Rose Selenke, and Mary ing Spring when the Rock Island Railroad was under construction, he worked on the grade for that, as well as doing his own farming. Like a true pioneer woman, Mrs. on Senter Avenue. Mr. Shaw became the President of the Stock Growers State Bank, a stockholder in the Esch Lumber Company, and also increased his land holding in Kansas as well in Colorado. In 1930 he passed away. Mrs. Shaw followed only three years later. There's was a life full of joys, hardships, sorrows and later prosperity. The left a rich heritage of memories to friends and to their surviving daughters, Minta Coleman of BurIington, Colorado and Jessie M. Davis of Goodland, Kansas sew. Andy was a farmer/rancher. After he "retired", he liked to trade and went to sales livestock on his place in Stratton until his death. Frances Torline, Albert Selenke, Caroline Sheldon. Serena owns the home in Stratton and Pius and his wife Lillian live on the farm in Flagler. All of their other children live elsewhere except Caroline who died in 1951. Andy and Frances had 30 grandchildren and some of them live in Kit Carson County. by Patty Borego SHAW FAMILY building, then under construction. After working a few weeks he felt that his team of Shaw's role was to stay at home during these absences, and care for the few head of stock and the garden. These were lonely days for her, since she had been accustomed to a large busy family preceeding her marriage, yet she was happy and always busy. An old diary which was kept by her, gives the following interesting information: chickens, pigs, and cows were the sources of revenue when crops failed to grow. Some years they provided enough income to pay F621 taxes on the land as well as enough for On March 20, 1987, Solomon Presley Shaw filed a claim for a homestead about five miles northwest of Lamborn, Kansas, the name of this town was later changed to Kanorado. He shipped his goods from Donovan, Illinois, to sold for 6 cents per pound. In December, 1889, 18% pounds of butter were sold for L2Yz cents per pound. Four chickens were sold for 22t/z cents each, also on the day the Fort Wallace, Kansas, the nearest railroad station at that time. From there he drove his team of mules across country to his homestead, hauling his few possessions, such as a plow, tools and a few bare necessities for provisions. In 1888, 12 pounds ofbutter were last of the corn crop was shucked, and a load was hauled to Lamborn and sold for 15 cents per bushel. A year later the price of butter was increased to 15 cents, while eggs went from 10 cents to 15 cents per dozen. Corn increased to 25 cents per bushel. During the several hundred mules to the American and French Governments for use in the armies of World War I. On this farmstead, which had Written by Minta Coleman. The above story was written several years ago and was published in "Kit Carson County and its Cattlemen" Jessie (Shaw) Davis died in 1977 and Minta (Shaw) Coleman died in 1978. Surviving decendents are Jessie's sons and their families. Jack Presley Shaw married to WilmaDaise. Theylive in Goodland, Kansas, and their daughter, Cheryl Ann Schremmer lives in Hoisington, Kansas with her husband, Eugene, and their three daughters, Kristi, Danah and Jackie Sue. William Shaw Davis, his wife Evelyn Domingo Davis with their daughter, Jessica live in Goodland, Kansas. Eugene Griffith Davis and his wife Evelyn Lohr Davis live near Burlington, Colorado. Donald Griffith Davis, their son, �married Deborah Downen. They live on the old Shaw farm with their three children, Jason, Summer and Tyler. Judy Davis, drawn tight around the head, as the bats would swoop from the rafters ofthe stage on their nightly prowl. SHERMAN FAMILY F625 daughter of Gene and Evelyn married Melvin Wagoner. They live, with their daughters by Evelyn Sherman Heather and Nicole, in Colorado Springs. Gene and Evelyn's third child, Jane married David Eves they have two sons, Joshua and Jesse, and live in Denver. SHERMAN FAMILY F624 by William A. Davis Lester and Evelyn Sherman SHERMAN FAMILY F623 Lester and Evelyn Sherman Lester Bryan Sherman, born November 10, 1896 and Helen Evelyn Sutton, born May 4, 1915 at Flagler, Colorado, ventured into their May-September marriage in L942. "Sherm and Evelyn" settled in Stratton, Colorado the first year of their marriage, and for the greater number of their thirty years together until Sherm died in May of 1972 they lived in eastern Colorado. Sherm had been born in Windom, Kansas and grew up a "trader." His father, Fred, taught him well. Sherm cut his teeth trading with the Gypsies who traveled the country in the early 1900s. Sherm's dad related that a neighbor asked if it was alright to trade horses with Sherm, not wanting to "take advantage" because he was so young. And Fred would reply: "Sure, trade with that boy, and the quicker you send him home with only the halter, the better I'd like it." It was the neighbor that went home with the halter, and trading set in Sherm's blood! Throughout the early 20s, Sherm traded in cattle. He had an eye for judging weights and would travel the country each week buying cattle, trucking them to a rail yard nearby, and shipping to the open market in Kansas City, Omaha, Nebraska, or to Iowa feeders. When Sherm weighed cattle in, he would set the weights on the scale, and most always LaBoe, who had lived at the tower since Greager had built it on the highest point of the eastern Colorado plains met her match in Sherm. It was always believed she had traveled with a circus, but Sherm could outballyhoo her. Ripley's Belieue It or Not had featured that six states could be seen from the top of The Tower, and Sherm, "on the bally," would tell people that if they looked hard they could see a man waving a red flag at the Wyoming border, a blue flag at the Nebraska border, a white flag at the Kansas border, etc. None believed this tall tale, but they did love the "telling." Sherm and Evelyn secured the lunch stop of the Greyhound bus line and each day the buses (always full with many service men going home or back to camp) stopped and had to be fed within thirty minutes. Sherm developed the original He worked "Colonel Saunders" method with Edna Smithburg, the -waitress, and Audrey Kenney, the cook, to perfect a complete hot chicken and barbequed beef menu ninety people could be served a - dinner complete in less than thirty minutes sit down at 75 cents a plate! It was a circus - Sherm would "cry" the menu as the people -alighted, LaBoe would be selling tower miniatures from her stand. Sherm and ofworking along side ofthe gandy dErncers on Evelyn seating the diners, tending the register, and in between selling Mother of Pearl jewelry with MOTHER, initials, and names written in gold wire on the face. Sherm and LaBoe always vied to see who could outsell the other. Lester I. (Jerry) Sherman recalls the last cattle drive he went on with Sherm. Jerry joined the men on his pony, Sonny Boy, and they herded from northwest of Flagler crosscountry east to the north of Bethune a three day drive. The cattle were bedded -near taught Mary and Jerry (Evelyn's children - water at night and driven during the day. Lunch and supper was carried to the riders, they were accurate. Sherm's tales were born in the many experiences of his trading, traveling and working with people. From his stint in the 20s the railroads, he had a little dittie that he adopted upon their marriage): tic-a-tum-tic-a-tum-te. "Hi-tic-a-tum Hi-tic-a-tum - tic-a-tum tie-de-ay. - embellished - his love of Sherm's tales talking. His mother claimed she named him appropriately, using the Bryan thinking of the orator and statesman, William J. Bryan. His sisters claimed he should have been an evangelist, and many friends teased that you h,new his name when you heard his "first beller" (referring to a disparaging interpretation of his initials, L.B.S.) In 1943, during World War II Sherm and Evelyn leased The Tower at Genoa. Tires and gas needed to travel and trade were rationed, and this was a unique alternative for the family's livelihood. What an experience! They opened the restaurant, manned the gas pumps, and set up living quarters in the old dance hall. They strung spreads as room partitions, and lowered the stage's curtain to cut off the draft. At night, the covers were Lester and Evelyn Sherman "I remember when we moved to Burlington in the mid-40s and lived in the old Montezuma Hotel." "The night it burned, Dad and Mom woke us up and the room was full of choking misty smoke." "We were carried down the stairs, and my great concern was that we were leaving the Christmas presents under the tree." "Out in the cold street later, we watched the pheasant hunters in the bright red underwear jump from the balcony porch." Pete and Laurice Kamla opened their restaurant so we could get in from the cold,' and we spent the night in the jail house, sleeping in borrowed clothes because we had lost everything in the fire." "It took our mother a long time to get over the loss of all our belongings." We had just sold our home in Burlington and our furniture, clothes and keepsakes were stored in our rooms or the basement of the hotel." Sherm and Evelyn loved to dance to the old favorites Dust", "Josephine", "Dark - "StarBall", Town Strutters "South" they - in fact had met in the 1930s at a dance. The big bands often played the Tracadero at Elitch's Gardens in Denver, and they frequently loaded a car full of friends to go. When Sherm was buried from The Church of God in Stratton in 1972, Merna Carlin played "Stardust" as Albert Goss, Jim Hasart, Tom Price, Tom Conarty, Bill Fehrenbach, and Albert Gwyn carried his coffin from the church. When Sherm purchased his first thoroughbred horse, Lady Silver, from R.M. Eskow in Greeley in the late 40s, he was "hooked" on thoroughbreds. Evelyn was initiated into the racing circuit, she said: "from the back end". Training started at 4:30 a.m. out to the barns, feeding and watering, -grab a quick He recalled, "Dad made me foreman and the governor's overcoat wouldn't have made me a vest pocket, I felt as big a man as any on breakfast at the track kitchen while discussing the day's races, past performances, and then back to the barns. Eve says she became "a stall expert!" Sherm went on to train and race his horses for many years. Evelyn retired to manage a bed and board motel and rooms in Stratton, going on the circuit occasionally as an observer only. Carrying the trading spirit to his last days, it is said that Sherm made a trade with Billy Bob Hendricks not long before he died. If Billy Bob would throw in certain extras on the burial, Dad would buy one of the best coffins Henricks Mortuary had. That sounds that drive." so possible! but breakfast was prepared on an open fire. Jerry and Mary attended various schools in eastern Colorado. Wherever the pasture was good, the family moved to the nearest town so the stock could be tended. The Collins Hotel in Stratton was called home when Mary entered the first grade in Stratton. Mary remembers: "It was fun living in a hotel." We had the big halls and stairways to play in." "The dining room and coffee shop was very nice at the Collins back then, tables covered with white clothes, big pitchers of ice tea and water on them, and flowers in vases." by Evelyn Sherman Evelyn Sutton Sherman lives in Flagler, Colorado at the time of this writing. She usually can be found in Tombstone, Arizona with her sister, Betty Austring, during the winter months. Lester Ivan (Jerry) Sherman has lived for many years with his family wife, Lois, and children Kathie, Scott and Brett in Durango, Colorado, and Mary Evelyn Sherman Carter with her family husband, Everette L. (Joe), and daughters, Leslie and Darlene, in Fort Collins, Colorado. by Evelyn Sherman �SHIELDS, GEORGE F626 We paid no attention nor thought until too late. I might have helped ship out some prehistoric bones, but it's too late now. by Dessie Cassity I do not write of George with any contempt or meaning to ridicule. To me George Shields was an interesting character, even if he was eccentric. The Indians are said to have a proverb, "Do not criticize any one until you have worn his moccasins." And this saying is credited to the Quakers, whether true or not, the Mr. saying, "Mary everyone is a little bit queer except you and I, and sometimes I think you are a little queer." Be that as it may, we do not wish to leave George out of Stratton history. We give Mr. Guy Brown credit for some of these incidents related here, as he lived in the hotel and George lived SHOLES, CHARLES AND TESSA F627 Tessa Sholes feeding her flock of chickens in Esbon, Jewell County, Kansas, 1880. Our mother's family came from Canada, Ohio, Indiana, and then Kansas. She was born in Lebanon, Smith County, Kansas, just across the street. 1887. The two towns are about eight miles apart. They were married in Mankato, Kansas, 1907, coming to Colorado in 1909. Moving to Colorado was the result of the Homestead Act by the Federal Government which gave a person 160 acres of land. Our father was granted a patent April 5, 1913 to SW1/4, Sec.13, Twp.10, Rng.47, signed by President Woodrow Wilson. The Homestead Act granted an individual the deed of trust to 160 acres of land if the person improved the land by living on it for five years. The government provided another way for the Mr. Collins had purchased a new hot water heater and, having plenty of hot water, invited George to come over and take a good hot bath, which he did. George dressed and went out in the cold. He took a severe cold and blamed it on the bath. Said his mother Iived to be eighty-four years old and never took a bath. Mr. Brown spoke up and said, "Maybe if she had taken baths, she would have lived to be one hundred." It was reported he went to the junk yard every day, picking up such articles as he thought might be worth something or as suited his fancy. His home soon became clogged with such things, but he hated to part with anything. One man came to buy a part of a mowing machine, but George wouldn't sell. Mr. Brown tried to buy a laundry stove, but no, George didn't want to sell. Taking over seven silver dollars, Mr. Brown again tried to buy the stove. George said, "Well, I'll Iet you have it, if you'll sell it back to me sometime." One time they went over there at dinner time. George wasn't in the kitchen or dining room, but had a plate with some grub and was seated in one of his most cluttered rooms enjoying his dinner. One thing about him, he always took the part ofwhat he thought was the underdog. If he thought anyone, poor, old or neglected, was being abused, he was never afraid to voice his opinion. He often wrote articles for the newspaper. At one time, it was said, people subscribed for these articles and never read the rest of the paper. At least they were read first. I never heard of his being dishonest. His dress was just as eccentric as the rest of his way of living. Where he got such clothes and styles we never knew, but it all was a part of George. We wondered what period of time he was living in or who his style adviser was. He would wear a red vest, a frock tail coat, both in about two sizes too small. It was like Mr. Brown said, "George gave flavor to our living and no one else has ever taken his place." individual to obtain land at this time. A Wedding picture of Charles E. and Tessa Sholes. 1907. of Stratton. Charles Eugene Sholes is the eighth generation of John Sholes I, born in England, 1676, coming to America as a sea captain and locating at Groton, Connecticut. In the fourth generation they gradually started moving west through New York, South Dakota, Iowa, and then into Kansas. Our father was born lr -::*--; I I 3 t He bought junk from the farmers and old out-moded machinery, thus helping the farmer. Also, in 1936, after the drought and dust bowl era, George paid out twelve hundred and fifty dollars for bones to people of eastern Colorado buying five carloads, one at Stratton, two at Burlington, two at Cheyenne Wells, one at Flagler, also one at Eads. He reported he shipped twelve carloads or two hundred and fifty tons. So George was a help in ways. The bones we picked and sold from our farm were much earlier, probably 1920. After that we had no bones. I have often wondered if they were buffalo bones or what. person could pay the government a certain amount of money and live on the land a fewer number of years. Our parents built a home, broke the ground, raised crops, and planted trees according to the requirements. Our grandfather, DeMott Sholes, on June 16, 1910, filed a claim in Colorado, to homestead and was granted a patent to SEI/4, Sec.14, Twp.10, Rng.47. The County road divided the two places and they were located one mile west and nine miles south Sunday School at Nutbrook School Our parents came to Stratton from Kansas by Rock Island Railroad and not by covered wagon. They sold most of their belongings before coming to Colorado, except what they were able to bring on the train. After coming to Stratton, they lived in town until a home and other buildings could be constructed on the land. The house was a frame. four-room �building with tar paper on the outside. The inside walls were wooden boards and wallpapered by our mother. Carpets and rugs covered portions of the wooden floors. The sod roof was cut from the native prairie, buffalo grass, cut into squares and placed on the roof of the house. The sod would require removing because of erosion and needed to be replaced each fall. Before a well was dug on our farm, water had to be hauled by horse and wagon in wooden barrels from our grandfather's home a mile away. It took a number of years to complete construction of all the buildings on the farm. After the house, came a chicken house. then the barn which was a large building with a hay loft, stalls for the horses on one side and milking stalls for the cows on the opposite side. Next were built metal grain bins for seed for the next year's planting and feed for the animals during the winter. The smoke house was a smaller building where meat was cured by means of dense smoke from a fire of hickory or other types of wood. The milk separator and work bench were also in this building. A cellar was dug as a storage place for potatoes, carrots, pumpkins, canned vegetables and fruits for winter meals. Next a cistern was dug and lined with cement to hold rain water and used to keep food cool by putting the food into containers and hanging by ropes over the water. Longhorn cheese was one of the favorite treats that was made at home. To make this cheese, rennet was put into sweet milk to form curds and a yellow color. After the whey was poured off, it was placed in cheese cloth and hung to drain. When this was completed, the cheese was put into a gallon can with both ends cut out and two boards cut to fit inside of the gallon can with clamps on the outside that could be tightened some each day until all the moisture was gone and then it was left to cure. Building was a continuing activity. Schools needed to be built for the children to attend during the week and church on Sunday. Sunday School and church were held when a pastor was able to get there. The pastor's transportation was by horse and he would stay with one of the families in the surroun- ding area overnight. Sundays were picnic days when neighbors could go to each other's home for dinner and friendship. Ball games for the boys and men in the afternoon were enjoyed. In the winter it was more difficult to get together because of transportation and cold weather, but neighbors and families gathered for the holidays. Mrs. Herb Griffith (Adah) was our mother's sister and her family had homesteaded a few miles from our home. We remember how Mother and Aunt Adah would send messages to each other by tying tea towels high on the windmills. The wind could be depended on to blow so they could see how many were tied to the windmill. A dark- colored towel indicated help needed. Other messages were "going to town" and "baby born." Telephones had not come to the country yet. Another experience firmly embedded in the minds of my sisters, Wava and Sarah, is while they were attending Nutbrook School. Our land was2-l/4 miles from the school and they had to walk to school when it was nice. Father had walked with them a few times to make sure they knew the way he expected always go. However, one day they :::- " decided the way was too far, so they started to cut across a field of cane and after they were into the deep part of the field they lost their sense of direction. After wandering around in the cane not knowing which way to go they finally came out of the field at the same place they started. Frightened, tired, and dusty they went the way our father told them to go and arrived at school at recess. Enough for shortcuts! To supplement the income our father years, but we have reconstructed these years to the best of our knowledge and according to the dates that we do have and the records we have been able to acquire. by Stella Sholes Arends SHORT - BUELL FAMILY worked for the railroad at the coal chutes. The engineer would stop the train so the engine was next to the water tank and coal F628 chutes so the men could refill the engine with water and the bin with coal - their source of energy in those days. No Amtrak at that time! Because of this railroad work our family lived in Limon, Colorado, for a few years before moving back to Stratton to continue working at the coal chutes. Moving into Stratton permanently in 1922, our first home and lots were on Kansas Avenue, later bought by the county for the location of the County Garage to store road equipment. The house was moved to its present location on Wyoming Avenue on the west edge of Stratton. While still living on the farm Father was foreman of the Poll Tax or Head Tax. This was a tax imposed by the County or State on each person. The assessment was $2.50 per person. At this time the men could pay the tax by working a certain amount of time on the roads in exchange for payment, usually done over weekends. This is how the roads were maintained in good condition and new roads built as they were needed. Father spent many years working for the County Commis- sioners. Some of the Commissioners he worked for were Ira Dunn, I.D. Messenger, and Ray Bowers. He operated tractor-pulled maintainers (like large graders) to build new roads, to repair and keep in good condition, and remove snow until his death. We have been told the James May family now lives on the home place and have a beautiful brick home. Electricity, telephone, and paved roads are enjoyed. Charles E. died 15 January 1935, and Tessa L. died 17 September 1956. A son, Charles D., died, 22 April 1973. He was a paratrooper in World War II and served in Japan. When he returned to Stratton, he was a contractor and builder. He built the Stratton Post Office, Trinity Lutheran Church in Burlington and many homes in the area. A daughter, Athalia I. died 15 May 1987. She married Ade Brachtenbach, they farmed north of Stratton, raised three daughters, and retired in Stratton. All are buried in Stratton cemet- Mr. and Mrs. Jim Short on the homestead. Texarado School was built on the northeast corner of their farm. eries. The living children are: Wava who married Roy Clifton and they moved to Oregon about 1940, where they worked and raised their family. Wava resides at Hebo, Oregon. Sarah married Cecil Campbell. They lived in the Stratton area, raised their family and farmed. Sarah worked in the school lunch program and in the manufacture of Stratton Mobile Homes. She now lives in Julesburg, Colorado. Stella married John Arends. They moved to the Denver area to raise their family and John was a farmer and livestock dealer. Stella lives in Brighton, Colorado. Our parents did not leave us a written history or dates of their pioneering West Marion C. Short, taken in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1942. My parents, Martha Ann Buell of Harlin, Kentucky, and James Samuel Short of Cumberlin Gap, Virignia were married at Ewing, Virginia, in 1887. My sisters were Laura, Minnie and Pearl. Brothers were Oscar, Marion, Millard and Samuel. Sister Laura married Jim Fields and remained in Detroit, Kansas. The rest of the family moved to Colby, Kansas. I (Lena) was born there in 1909. Dad, Oscar and Marion came on to Colorado and each "proved up" on a homestead. They had to go to Kit Carson County �mother went to help out. She delivered many babies. Brother Sam bought us three girls a saddle horse. We all loved to ride. Each year we acquired more livestock. We began milking more cows and selling cream. Our brand was diamond reversed S. The men farmed their land, but kept pasture land too. The land was covered with buffalo grass, which was very good pasture. Mother made soap. The pork was cured with salt. The sausage was fried, put in three gallon stone jars and covered with hot lard. We put cucumbers down in salt brine. When we wanted to eat them, just soaked the salt out. Green beans we strung on needle and thread, and hung them up to dry. We had a potato patch, garden, dairy products and meat, so bought few groceries. We bought flour and sugar in 100 pound sacks. They were of printed material and plain. Mother made us girls dresses and sunbonnets from them. We picked up cow chips for fuel. Dad cleaned out sheepsheds and brought the large chunks home, this kept a longer fire than the cow chips. worked for the D&RG Railroad until he retired. My parents moved to F lagler in L924 so I could attend Hi-school. In 1927 Mother and I joined the Baptist church. Most of the family joined, later my husband Parker became a member, also our five sons. I married Parker Weatherly in 1929. He sold his fried pie shop in Arkansas City, Kansas. We moved to Ft. Collins for a year then back near Flagler. We farmed there until 1948, moved into Flagler, managed the M&S Cafe, then bought the Flagler Dray. We have 5 sons. Duane, Floyd and Lloyd (twins), James and Douglas. I am proud ofmy pioneer background. Dad taught us the value of being truthful, keeping promises and doing for others. Mother taught us about the love of God and the need of prayer. We led a happy life. Worked hard but always had time to visit a neighbor or go for a horseback ride. Now (1985) Sam and I are the only ones Iiving on the Shorts'that once Iived on the old homestead. by Lena (Short) Weatherly We had many neighbors, mostly from Texas. They moved on, except the Burris Lena, Marion and Pearle Short in the city park at Ft. Collins, Colorado, Sept. 2, 1929. office and file on which land they wanted, and Iive on it for a certain period of time. Then go back and they were given the title to the homestead. Dad's land was fourteen miles south of Flagler, Oscat's a mile east and Vz south of there. Marion's land was 18 miles south of Flagler and one east. They came back to Colby and in January 1910 they, accompanied by Millard and Sam, drove two covered wagons, loaded with household goods, a plow and other machinery, some pigs, chickens and a dog. They led the milk cow behind one wagon. When they got to the homestead there were no buildings or fences. Mack Newsom lived about a mile north. There were empty sheepsheds and an old house he no longer used. Dad and the boys lived there until they got some buildings done. There was a dry sand creek near by, only had to dig about four feet to water. First thing they dug a well. Then dad plowed sod and they built a sod house. They put several small windows together on the south side with a wide ledge underneath, where later mother kept her flowers. They dug a small cellar. This house was cool in summer and only needed a cookstove for heat in winter. Mother, Minnie, Pearle and I came out on the train in May. I was seven months old. Marion and Oscar each built a house on their land. A while later Marion built on to his house and started a country store. He named it "Loco" after the loco weed that was so prevalent there. About 1915, Marion became postmaster of the Loco post office, he took it over from Charles Davis and moved it into one corner of his store. He married Susan Laws. They had one son, Howard. Dad bought a well drilling rig. Sam missed a lot of school in winter to drive the horses on the rig. The saddest time for my family was when brother Millard got rattlesnake bit and died. This was in July 1910; he was fourteen. We had a lovely corn crop that fall, but the hail ruined that. Then Dad, Oscar and Marion went to Kansas to work to get money to continue farming. When a neighbor was ill family. They had two sons, Dick and Bill. They lived about a mile north and % west of us. There was a spring on their land. John Stranger's lived over the hill west of us. They had four younger children same age as my brother, two sisters and myself. Bill, Minnie, SHORT, BEN AND BESS F629 Carl and Clara. Laurents' had children our age also. Julia, Lewis, Elizabeth and Evalena' Birchfields had two girls, Leola and Lorena. Other neighbors were Newbys, Alexanders, Mack Newsoms, Vinzs and later Bill Vassios, Jim Kountz and Pete Vassios. Dad donated the north east corner of his land for the Texerado school to be built on. This was the center of activities for the community. There were programs, dances, box suppers, "Literaries" and sometimes church. Oscar. Marion and Sam were all in the Army in World War I. Sam also served in the Marines. About our families: Laura became postmistress at Detroit, Kansas: This position she held until she retired. They had five children. Oscar married Frances Beauchamp. They have two living children. They moved into Flagler. Later they moved to Washington, D.C. Oscar was a government guard there until he retired. Then they moved back to their home in Flagler. After Marion returned from the Army he, Sue and Howard moved to Ft. Collins. He went to college there one year, was on the Police force six years. Then moved to Albuquerque New Mexico where he was a Prohibition Officer and later an investigator. He worked there until he retired. Sam married Lucille Mahoney (her parents managed the Flagler Hotel). They lived in Ft. Collins 15 years. In winter he worked in the sugar factory and farmed in summer. They moved to Utah in 1944. Sam worked at the Navy Base during World War II. Then he started farming. He raised tomatoes for the canning factory and ran a dairy. They have 5 children. Sams' moved back to Flagler in 1962. Minnie married Enos Reynolds in Ft. Collins. They moved to a farm near Holly. They had two children. They were divorced. Minnie and children moved to Abilene, Kansas. Later she married Harry Davis. They had one son, Harry was an interior painter. Pearl married Carl Foust. He had two sons, age four and two. They have one daughter. They lived in Denver. Carl Bessie Coonrod and Bennie Short on their wedding day, January 5, 1911. My husband, Ben H. Short, and I both lived at Mahaska, Kansas when we were young. We were married January 5, 1911. He had come to Colorado the fall before where he and his brother, Joe, had filed on homesteads, Joe taking the east half of the section and Ben the west half. They and Joe's wife, Ruth, and small son, Kermit, rented a small house a few miles north of their homesteads where the four of them lived while Ben and Joe built a sod house on Joe's land, where he and his family took up their abode. Then Ben went back to Mahaska for the winter. Quoting from my diary: "Following a two months honeymoon spent in the old homes at Mahaska, Ks., we arrived at Seibert, Colo., �was predicted, I nearly froze my fingers picking strawberries so as not to have them {a& th freeze. Now I buy frozen strawberries! All the rest of the Short family later moved to Colorado. Ben's parents were Thomas J. and Clara Short. Their oldest son was Earl M. His wife was Inez and their sons were Robert '& *'. :ll:r,e and Leigh. Earl worked at the elevator in Seibert for many years, and later became Kit Carson County Judge. The other members of the family were Harry, Schuyler, Maude, Verna and Alice. Harry and his wife, Bessie, had one daughter, Marguerite. Schuyler married Zola Wrenn Cruickshank. Maude's husband, Ross Lowe, worked at the elevator in Seibert when they lived here, from 191b17. Verna's husband was Earl Livingston. Alice married Odbert Martin in the spring and died 5 months later, at the age of 22. Some of our neighbors in those early days were Rob and Mollie Barss, Harley and Suda Kimball, Glen and Ruby Bright, Conleys, i. .:i,,.,,:lt:"q*;],r --*'# - .dlci Our family on our farm. On the horse, Shirley, Harley, Peg, Alice, Paul and Art. Bessie holding Larry and Bennie holding Bunnie. Monday, March 13, 1911, at 8:30 a.m. Took a livery rig for our new home, arrived at 5:00. for the first time entered a sod house. We slept in board shack, 8 x 10 ft., on our claim-our future home." Our homestead was 12 miles south and 4 miles west of Seibert. We slept in the shack on our claim, and ate our meals with Joe and Ruth until the men could build a small one room house on our place. Ruth and I had a garden between us where we raised and canned all kinds of -:.,, t,f ..,... :: The homestead of Tom and Clara Short in 1913. vegetables. We so seldom got to town to buy groceries, and didn't even know about frozen vegetables. One autumn day when a storm Bakers, Hendricks, Stones, Westovers, Helveys, Dowse's, Conartys, Tilburys, Karkers and Lowrie's. A little later we had Frank and Hazel Van Waning, Floyd "Chub" and Ruby Evans, Percy and Goldie Norton, and Ellis and Ethel McConnell, and many more as the years went by. Quotes from the pages of my diary: 1911. March 29 - Bennie went to Seibert for lumber for our new house. April 16 - Began housekeeping on Easter Sunday, April 16, 1911. April 22 - Auto passed our prairie home. Aug. 18 - I went to town to meet Grandma and Aunt Nell. Drove 16 miles alone. (In bugg:y.) Sept. 11 - Dowse's barn burned. Oct. 38 - We left Seibert at 4:40 p.m. to go back to Kans. 1912: January 10 - Our sweet little baby girl was born. We named her Shirley Ruth. April 8 - Arrived at Seibert at 9 o'clock. Rob there to meet us. July 14 - Bennie & I went to the first meeting of the new Sunday School in the Manafee house, 4 miles away. 24 present. Dec. 25 - Our first Christmas away from our parents & brothers & sisters, our first one in our own home. Had such a merry time. Rob, Earl & Inez & T.R., Harry, Joe, Ruth, Kermit & Virgil and Kimball's here. Had good dinner. Bennie and I spent our evening writing letters home, also eating ice cream and cake and reading our Christmas letters and cards. 1913: Feb. 15 - Bennie and Kermit slept with Grandpa in his soddie on a bed of straw. March 14 - A terrible blizzard. a terrific wind and driving snow, but thermometer didn't go very low. Part of the roof of Joe's house blew off leaving large cracks for dirt and snow to blow in. They had to come to our house and stayed all day and night and all next day. Everything in their house got into terrible shape. We had to make bed on floor. It was simply terrible. I stepped out and it almost blew me away. Tore off our windmill wheel. Blew over all the feed stacks and scattered feed far and wide. March 22 - Bennie got home at noon. Had exciting news about a murder in Flagler. Hotel landlord shot by cook's husband. Jealousy the motive. May L2 - We went to Hendricks and saw big gas tractor plowing, turns 8 14-inch furrows. May 21 - Had big accident-our cupboard The short Family, taken on Tom and clara's Golden wedding Day, March 13, 1928. Earl, Ben, Tom, Maude, Verna, Joe, Schuyler and Harry. Seated, Clara. (dry goods box nailed to wall) fell to the floor, breaking some of my choice pieces, wedding gifts. May 26 - Cattle branding day. Our brand H 4. June 24 - Bennie and I went tc town with Father in car. Certainly enjoyed the trip. First time I had been to Seibert for 14 months. July 17 - A little boy met with sad �accident, getting arm shot off. They brot him to Father Short to take to town in auto, made SIMON FAMILY nant.) A day when everything went wrong for every one ofus. Bennie took the car and took Joe to hunt a hired girl. He didn't get any. The car broke down and Joe walked home, arrived at 5 p.m. Beenie had to get a team to haul the car to Flagler and leave it for repairs. Didn't get home until noon next day. Earl's came up and brought their Uncle Jim Harris for Bennie to take to Seibert to the train, then had to take him back home again. Rob borrowed our buggy and we had no way to go My father, Eligius (Al) Joseph Simon was born in Ast, Kansas near Andale, August 27, 1897. About 1917 his father moved the entire trip in 30 minutes. Sept. 7 - (At this time, both Ruth and I were eight months preg- after Mother until Mollie came along at nearly dark (with the buggy). I rode home with her, taking Kermit and Shirley, and then went for mother. Was rather frightened riding around on the prairie after dark, afraid I would lose the trail. We all felt so blue and worried. The damage to the car is expensive. Sept. 28 - Baby boy was born at 6:30 a.m. Named our boy Harley Harrison. Oct. 2 Bennie went after cows in the evening and I got Shirley to sleep, then lay her in the dark counting my blessings. My future looks bright and I think I shall now be perfectly happy. 1913: Oct, 21 - Mr. Short and Bennie to Burlington with Rob to get his naturalization papers. Now. 27 - Thanksgiving Day. We and Joe's all took dinner at Earls'. We have so much to be thankful for, our home, our health and our babies, and our friends and our prosperity. Dec. 31 - This is the last day of the year. Such a full year it has been. When we look back and reflect, we have been blessed with health and content and love, lifes greatest blessings. Our prayer is that the coming year may be no less kind to us, and may we be deserving of the kindness our heavenly Father bestows upon us. We raised our family on our homestead, living through horse and buggy days, Dust Bowl days, and the Big Depression of the early thirties. We had four boys and four girls. We always took them to Sunday School and Church. They went to Second Central to School. Part ofthem went to college. They all married real nice mates and raised nice F630 family to Stratton by train and car. They bought land Vz mile north and' lVz mile east of Stratton. My father and grandfather helped a construction company build a house, barn, and planted trees. His family left Kansas because of tornadoes. My mother, Rose M. Gilligan was born in San Francisco May 17, 1900. Her mother, Catherine Meagher, a widow, was interested in real estate and bought land Vz mile north of Stratton about 1918. They also came by train. Grandmother Meagher moved because of the earthquakes. My parents were married in Cleveland, Ohio on August 18, 1920. Grandfather Simon moved to Idaho but my parents returned to Stratton. They had six children - Catherine, Joe, Margaret Anne, Con, Don, and Jerry. Jerry the youngest was born in 1929. My folks went to Chicago with Jerry. The rest of us were cared for by Grandmother Meagher. Dad and Mom worked in Chicago to pay bills, buy cattle, etc. Jerry stayed in Chicago with Aunt Ann, Mom's sister, for 3 months and then came back to Stratton to be with us. The folks went through the droughts, grasshoppers, and dust storms. My Mom and Dad continued to work. The folks built a filling station in Stratton which Mom operated a good part of the time. My dad worked at anything for a wage - W.P.A., railroad section, town marshall, and at the light plant. Grandmother Meager died in 1926. We lost the farm around 1940. Grandmother Simon helped the family keep 2 quarters of land. My medicine shows, card parties, and dances. As a family we always loved picnics. All the neighbors would congregate in the early years and play baseball west of the house. We always had papers, magazines, and books to read. My parents enjoyed traveling mostly the Southern and Western states. Dad died of a heart attack in 1965 and Mom died of cancer in 1983. Catherine was Chief Pharmacist at the V.A. Hospital in Philadelphia when she died in 1973 of cancer. Don had died in 1942 as a result of an automobile accident. I, Margaret Anne, retired after 33 years of working as a nurse. I am living in Lakewood, Colo. Joe, Con, and Jerry helped my Dad on the farm, always. They were able to buy land of their own eventually. Joe lived on the home- place and farmed until he died of leukemia in 1979. He also worked parttime at the postoffice. Con always worked on the farm. He married Serena Selenke in 1956 and moved to Cheyenne County 6 miles north of Firstview. They had nine children - Ellen, Patty, David, Louise, Barbara, Janice, Ted, Ann, and Karen. Some of them continue to live in Cheyenne and Kit Carson County. Con died ofa heart attack in 1977. Serena is remarried to Bob Best and lives in Stratton. Jerry married Joan Craig and lives in Lakewood, Colo. He taught exceptional children for 30 years and is retired. They have five children - Tim, Theresa, Kimberly, Kevin, and Brigid. At present, my nephew, Ted Simon lives on the Meagher-Simon fatm Vz mile north of Stratton. The picture is the farm in the early 1920's. parents were eventually able to buy the remainder of land from their families. We always had plenty of good food. Mom canned a lot of fruits, vegetables, and beef. My Dad loved to hunt and trap and so did my brothers. We were active in Stratton functions - Stratton Day, school functions, families. Shirley married John F. Matthews. Harley married Eleanor McGriff. Viola (Peggy) married Earl Pursley, and Alice married Burr Keller. Paul's wife is Katherine Jackson, and Lloyd (Art) mamied Jane Allen. Bernice (Bunnie) married J.C. Elliot and Larry's wife is Juanita Towner. one son, Art, passed away of heart attack, same as his father did. We moved to Seibert in 1948 to the Boyd Roller house where I still live. My husband and I were the oldest members of the Seibert CO-OP, going in when it first staded in 1931. He was also on the Second Central school board for many years, member of Farm Bureau, IOOF, Town Council and the Cemetery Board. He supervised the planting of evergreen trees surrounding the cemetery. He was the Mayor of Seibert and at the time of his death on July 8, 1957. If I live until my birthday, September 10, 1986, I will be 100 years old. by Bessie Short Simon Home in 1920's, % mile north and' lVz east of Stratton. by Margaret Anne Simon �SIMON, CON AND SERENA F631 My Dad, Con, was born in the original Simon Homestead. 3 miles northeast of Stratton an June 2,1926. He attended school through the 8th grade at St. Charles, and then attended high school in Stratton. He helped his parents with the farming, until he went to work on the oil rigs to make money to pay off his farm. In the early 50's, he and his brothers, Joe and Jerry, purchased the land and home which is still ours in Cheyenne County. Together they farmed and ranched in Kit Carson and Cheyenne County. My Mom, Serena Selenke, moved with her family to Flagler, Colorado from Grainfield, Kansas in 1946. After graduating from high school in Flagler, she attended nurses training at Mercy Hospital in Denver. She then worked at Kit Carson County Hospital in Burlington. During a dirt storm on January 14, 1956, my parents, Con and Serena, were married at St. Charles Church in Stratton. Dad brought Mom to Cheyenne County in May of that same year and lived the rest of his life in Cheyenne County. Our home was 6 miles north of Firstview, Colorado. They had nine children: Ellen in'56, Patty in'57, David in '59, Louise in '60, Barbara in '61, Janice in '63, Ted in '65, Ann in '67, and Karen (myself) in'68. Through the years, my Dad and his brother Joe were able to purchase more land in Kit Carson and Cheyenne County. My Mom continued to work part-time as a registered nurse at St. Joseph Hospital of the Plains in Cheyenne Wells, Colorado. On September 13, L977 my dad died while working on the farm. My two brothers, David and Ted, were able to continue farming with the help of their sisters and mother. In August of 1979, we moved to Stratton where my Grandparents, Rose and Al Simon used to live, about 1/z mile north of Stratton. My Mom then went to work at the Kit Carson County Hospital in Burlington until 1983. On May 28,of the same year, she was remanied to Robert Best of Stratton. She and Bob reside in Stratton. Currently, Ellen lives in Denver and works for an oil company. Patty and her daughter Andrea live in Stratton. Patty works at the Kit Carson County Hospital as a registered nurse. David lives north of Firstview where my entire family grew up with his wife Coleen Witt of Cleveland. Ohio. He farms the land in Cheyenne and Kit Carson County. Louise is married to Dan Mills of Stratton and lives on a Dairy farm south of Vona. They have two sons, Andy and Brad. Barbara is living in Stratton and does various jobs including farm work. Janice lives in Greeley, Colorado and is married to Paul Pautler originally from Stratton. Ted lives in Stratton in my Dad's parent's home, about Vz mile north of Stratton. He farms with David. Ann in attending college and in majoring in Agriculture Business. Karen (myself) is attending Stratton High School and helps on the farm when needed. by Karen L. Simon SIMPSON FAMILY F632 I hear from V.S. Fitzpatrick that a history of Kit Carson County is being compiled, and Fitz (as I have called him most of my life) suggested I write to you. I was born in Kit Carson County north of Seibert on a farm in 1918. My sister Marian was born there in 1916; our brother V.L. in 1923; and little sister Lela Mae in 1929. Our parents were V.L. (Verson) and Louise Simpson. My dad went to that country to homestead a place for his mother. Marian and I graduated from Seibert High School in 1935. by Jane A. Gearhart SLISE FAMILY F633 Sod busters were intruders in the West 60 or 70 years ago but even the ranchers copied them after awhile. Some 75 years ago the Wild West had been tamed. Cattle and sheep outfits had their snug ranch buildings on rivers and creeks but usually ranged their cattle on the vast public domain. Few people foresaw any change in this way of life. Then, throughout the first two decades of this country, came a new wave of immigration. The open land erupted with sod shacks and houses, barbed wire fences crisscrossed the vast plains, old roads and trails were blocked off, and channeled onto section lines. The dry land farmer had anived. Whether these were for the better or worse depended upon the point of view. If you were an old timer, you agreed with the Indian, who grunted to the plowman, "Ugh, grass wrong side up." The first step in the new life was to find a suitable place of unclaimed land, or to buy a relinquishment from a former claimant. The claim had to be filed and a fee paid at the land office. Government requirements were fairly simple. First, one had to build a fairly habitable house. Then he had to live on the land for a period of three to five years. The land had to be improved to the sum of 91.25 an acre. But on farming homesteads 20 acres had to be plowed and planted. The old timers termed the new comers "Wrinkle Bellies" as they predicted the homesteaders would soon starve out. But their world was changing. Now prophet could predict that between 1910 and 1920, new methods of dry land farming and an increase in rainfall would usher in the "age of wheat." I, Margaret Slise, am the granddaughter of a pioneer Kansas family. My Berry grandparents immigrated from southeastern Iowa in 1866 by oxen team and covered wagon, and located in Doniphan County, Kansas. My father, John Harvey Berry, was born at Hiawatha, Kansas, in 1871, and farmed in Nemaha County when a young man. He married Marie Rose Probst on March 2, 1906, oflndianapolis, Indiana, in that city. She had immigrated to this country from Germany with her parents at the age of three in 1881 along with two brothers and two sisters. I was born on the farm of my Berry grandparents near Goff, Kansas, April 18, 1907. In August of that year, my father filed on 160 acres ofland to homestead in Eastern Colorado, in northwestern Kit Carson County, 20 miles northwest of Flagler, on the southwest quarter of section seven, township six, range 51, just south of the Washington County line and just east of the Lincoln County line. Our adjoining 160 acres was the northwest quarter of section 18, in township six of range 51, which my father filed on in about 1911, by contesting first before he could file a claim to homestead. There was an old dugout on this 160 acres. In March of 1908 my father loaded an immigrant car out of Goff, Kansas, with farm machinery, wagon, buggy, harness, household goods, one runty pig and a few chickens, and shipped the freight car to Flagler, Colorado. Dad had a big team of draft mares ready to bring out to Colorado too, when advised the horses would not do well in this high altitude. Thus, he sold the team for 9300 and bought another team, a smooth mouth grey mare and a five year old bay mare, at a farm sale at Colby, Kansas. We could drive these horses to our buggy. The grey mare died in the winter of 1912 so we did not have her too long. by Margaret Clistie Berry Slise SLISE FAMILY F634 Upon arrival in Colorado, Dad moved our belongings to a close neighbor's, Henry Guhr, a bachelor, and stayed with him while putting up the house and barn. He borrowed a sod cutter from another neighbor and put up a sod house of two rooms, 14x32 feet. A well was dug by Sam Proaps, to a depth of 144 feet to good water. Dad also put up a sod barn of 16x32 feet and later a granary, also of sod. During this time, Mom and I had gone back to Indianapolis to spend the time with her parents until the house was finished and ready to move into. We arrived in Flagler on the morning passenger train on May 1, 1908. Thus, I have been a resident of Eastern Colorado for nearly 68 years.r I can remember a lot of incidents and have forgotten a good deal too. My two sisters and a brother were born in the homestead soddy. Later in 1916 an addition was added to the house making a nice three room house which was quite comfortable even through severe winters. Other later farm buildings included a small chicken house 8x12 feet, and an outhouse. The sod blocks were cut in a low grassy place on the land and hauled by a team and wagon to the building site. By then Dad made a sod cutter, a sort of sled pulled by a teaof horses. Dad, being a blacksmith, fashioned the cutter. The sod was cut l4-inches wide and four-inches thick in long strips, and then a sharp spade was used to cut it into l8-inch lengths, which were then turned out and upside down to cure. The blocks were laid up brick style with a twelve-inch board through the walls for support, and window and door openings allowed for. A plate was put on top of the walls for the roof rafters. twelve-inch �boards nailed on, covered with tar paper and sod put on the roofgrass side up. The inside walls could be plastered to keep out mice and sparrows, or even snakes which were numerous around the place. The floors were of twelve-inch boards. About 1914 Dad dug a cellar under the kitchen and bailed the dirt out with a box sled with one horse hitched on a chain. It was my job to lead and attend to the horse. In 1914 a school district was formed and a sod building built 1% miles west of us. I started to school in 1915 as a second grader and completed the eighth grade at this Twin Lakes School. The school got its name as two big lagoons full of water from snow melt in the spring were close by on each side of the road. This school was located just over the line inside Lincoln County. Dad bought a black mare, a three year old, named Nell, from August Kalisch in about 1911. She was a mean one of Mustang ancestry, a good work horse, but a kicker. One time Dad drove a team and wagon to Bird City, Kansas, to work in the grain harvest, driving Nell and Sadie. On the way coming home. Nell took a notion to kick. So she splintered both end gates out of the wagon box. One summer she was bitten by a rattlesnake and was as docile as a kitten to doctor. Being a blacksmith, Dad shod a lot of horses in homestead days and also sharpened plow shares. He hauled flour to the Thurman store one winter from Flagler and kept his own horses shod. Mom generally drove the buggy and horse, either Maud or Sadie, to Thurman, seven miles northwest, about every week for groceries and the mail, to get a letter from home folks back East. The postoffice was a soddy too, which stood just north of the Thurman store. A Mrs. Campbell was the postmaster at the time. Once the old gray mare, Maud, stumbled and fell down, so I sailed right over the dash board of the buggy behind her. This old mare was so slow and gentle that nothing frightened her. by Margaret Clistie Berry Slise SLISE FAMILY F635 A few people were driving automobiles by this time and expected to have the right-ofway on the roads. One car drove up behind our buggy and hooted and tooted for the buggy to move out of the wagon track, but Mom kept right on and finally the car had to pull out around. Boy, was that fellow mad! Another time I was at school and Mom came driving by. I was up on top of the outhouse removing a board to get inside as the door got accidentally braced shut. I thought for sure I would be punished when I got home from school, but Mom either did not see me or recognize me. I used to have a dog sled team and had a lot of fun driving Niger and Rover. We had a lot of snow in those days and one time when I was probably nine or ten years old, the dogs took aftcr a rabbit going straight for a barbed wire fence. I laid back so I cleared the fence safely; however, Dad was watching and was scared I would get my head cut off. a farm northeast of Genoa, in the Union I also drove those dogs to a coaster wagon and it was fun to go for the mail a quarter or a mile away every day. We had a rural route delivery in 1916 out of Flagler with Ray Thompson being the first carrier; however, he left for France not long after to fight in World neighborhood, thus ending our homesteading days. This is December of 1975 and I now live by myself on 160 acres two miles northwest of War I. farming and caring for a few head of live- We used to have some severe blizzards often lasting from one to three days. About March 20,t9t2, my father nearly perished in a bad one that caught him on the way home so he unhitched the horses and led them, supposedly going in a northwesterly direction. He thought it was odd the wind kept changing directions. As he was getting tired and weary, he laid down and began to feel warm and knew he was freezing to death. He thought of Mom and we three small girls - the youngest was six weeks old, so he struggled on again. A lull in the storm revealed the house light was just up on the hill so he made it home. Too weary to remember until later that he had just tied the horses to the windmill tower, he went back out to put them in the barn. The next day he went to get the load ofhay and found where he had travelled in a circle when he became lost in the swirling snow. In about 1910 Dad bought a Jersey cow, 18 years old, for $50. She gave a lot ofgood rich milk. I took a notion to milk her one day but all the milk went on the ground. Dad sold the cow later for $51. We had milked her for two years and got two calves, besides all the nice milk, cream and butter. We had a lot of dry, Iean years and not much crop raised some times; only feed for the horses. We generally raised a garden, potatoes, corn, beans and plenty of pumpkins. By careful management, we got through the winters with some coal and several tons of cow chips to burn for fuel. We had a few hogs and a cow once in a while. We had a lot of good neighbors, and men exchanged work in harvest and threshing. When we had grain to sell, Dad borrowed a wagon and I drove one team and he the other, to Flagler several times, a 40-mile round trip for a 12-year old girl. We brought back coal, groceries and other supplies from trips to town. I once rode a wiry, young mare about 25 miles to gather a threshing crew as the Genoa in Lincoln County and I am still stock.2 I was married in February of 1940 at Goodland, Kansas, to John Elmer Slise of Genoa, a man of homestead pioneers, who came to Colorado from Minnesota and Iowa. We established our home northeast of Genoa in the Arickaree community where we farmed and ranched and started our family. We became the parents of two daughters, one of whom is Mrs. Philip (Lois) Scott, who with her husband, reside south of Lindon, Colorado.3 The younger daughter, Velma, and husband, Rodney Eccleston, with their son and daughter, reside now in Leon, Iowa. My husband and parents are now deceased, with Dad being 94 at the time of his death in March of 1966. and Mom was 85 when she passed away in August of 1963. Both Mom and Dad are buried in Loveland, Colorado, where my sister, Pauline (Polly), who is Mrs. K.S. Gurwell, lives. My youngest sister, Norma, Mrs. Verlie Holmes, lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and brother Wesley, is in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he pursues his vocation of mechanics.a lThis was written in December of 1975. zShe gave up farming the land in 1986; however. she continues to live on the farm (1987) and continues to care for livestock. sAfter this was written, the Scotts became the parents of two daughters, one of whom was stillborn. aWesley died in January 1986 in Augusta, Maine, where he had gone a few weeks earlier to be with his only child. He is buried at Winthrop, Maine. by Margaret Clistie Berry Slise sLoAN, E. H. F637 threshers would be at our place the next day. It took about 14 men to do bundle threshing. I recall that in about 1919 during spring rains that our sod roof leaked and to keep the beds dry, the binder canvasses were stretched over the beds, possibly the result of the roof leaking when we kids played on the house top in the summer. by Margaret Clistie Berry Slise SLISE FAMILY F636 Those were the good old days and I have a lot of happy memories of those days along with the memories of such things as the Ethel Sloan pictured at right, at the dedication of the new Burlington Library in 1959. Everett Hurst Sloan was the oldest son of Matthew H. Sloan and Ethel Grier Sloan. He prairie fires, including the horrendous one was born on November 18, 1907 near Andov- near Thurman in about 1915 or 1916. and the er, Kansas. He had one brother. Harold Sloan, and two sisters, Dorothy Wolf and devastating tornado which took the lives of friends, also near Thurman in August of 1924. My parents, sisters and brother and I moved from the homestead to 13 miles northeast of Limon in Lincoln County in March of 1925, and then three years later, to Edna Hudson both of Wichita. Kansas. Everett learned at an early age what work and responsibility was all about. He grew up on the farm and worked with horses in his early days. At 8 years his dad put him on a �Wesley School of Nursing in Wichita, Kansas. She graduated and was a Reg. Nurse. She met Everett while a student working in the hospital. She was a member of The United Methodist Church in Burlington, active in circle work. She was a volunteer and helped the Burlington Library during the time of its building program. Ethel belonged to Zonta, International and Burlington Garden Club serving as President of these organizations and being a charter member of Zonta. At one time she was a member of Inter Sese. She loved to bowl and enjoyed playing cards. Ethel passed away July 5, 1978 after a long illness. On February 24, L979 Everett married Stella E. Ciboski. They enjoyed these years by traveling and sharing activities and friends. Everett passed away on January 16, 1986 following a short illness. by Everett Sloan Sloans Motel, Burlington, Colorado built by Everett and Ethel Sloan. also filled these pits in after the oil well was finished. He farmed during the dry years and finally started a cow herd near Eldorado, Kansas. Everett Sloan married Ethel W. Miller on February 2L, 1932 at her home in Winfield, Kansas. To this union were born three children: Robert L. Sloan and twin daughters, Virginia and Carolyn. In the Early'30's Everett and Ethel bought a farm with the The office of the Sloan Trailer Court with Ethel Sloan about 1948. corn binder which was pulled by three horses and had to cut 40 rows before coming home for lunch. Later he and his brother ran a steam engine threshing crew. Everett enjoyed hunting, fishing and trapping, but had to do this on his own time as his father didn't approve of these activities as he always had things for Everett to do. He and his friends trapped to earn money by selling the furs to buy books and school clothes. Everett went to a one room school near the farm and graduated from Andover High School in 1926. He bought his first car, a Model-T-Ford with fur money for $20.00, which he used to run his trap line. Times were hard when he used his horse team in the oil fields near Wichita to dig slush pits for salt water. He WILMA MILLER F638 This was a time in Burlington, when completion of Bonny Dam brought a lively business to the trailer court and laundry. Everett built Sloan's Motel on the NW 7+ of help of his mother. This place was 2 miles east of the Cessna Air Craft plant. He also leased some land. As the years went by they built a complete farm near Wichita. Everett had 135 head of herefords and sent them to the flint hills for grazing in the summers and in 1944 the acreage. Ethel became the manager and operator of the motel while Everett continued to expand the farm operation. Three farms were acquired over a period of time. One SE of Burl., one NE of Stratton, and 10 quarters SW ofBethune. Dry land wheat was raised until irrigation became popular. Water wells were drilled on all three properties and corn was planted. The Stratton farm also supported a cow-calf operation expanding combine that came to Wichita, Kansas. In the war years he customed combined wheat from Oklahoma to the Dakotas. In 1948 he leased into a pig farrowing operation. Ethel watched all this develop into more than Everett could handle. Two farms were sold until all that remained was the 10 quarters SW of Bethune. Everett unloaded the first self propelled "Good fishing" Everette Sloan, in middle with two fishing buddies, Dallas Stevens and son on the left and Bill Flatt on the right taken in 1960. SLOAN, ETHEL land in Colorado and bought a trailer court in Burlington, Colorado and this became home. They built a motel on this property. Along with his farming wheat and later irrigated corn and sugar beets Everett and Ethel were busy working and raising their family. In 1963 they sold the motel, which carries the family name "Sloans Motel" to the Knapps and purchased two sections of land. At this time they built a home on 165 South Cherry in Burlington, Colorado. They subdivided and sold the Kansas Farm known as Sloans Addition of Wichita, Kansas. Everett and Ethel continued to farm and were able to travel now that they had sold the motel. Their son Robert married Cleta Marie Speicher and now live in Wray, Colorado. They have two sons and one daughter and two grandsons. Their daughter, Virginia married Wayne Hecht and they reside in Denver, Colorado, and have three children, two boys and one girl. Daughter Carolyn married John Hansen Jr. and live west of Bethune, Colorado. They have two daughters and one grandson. Ethel was born on September 26, 1908 at Grenola, Kansas. Her parents later moved to Winfield, Kansas where she graduated from High School. She entered nurses training at In 1963, the Motel and Trailer park was sold and a fine residence was built on the SW corner of the property, behind the motel, opposite the machine shed located there. This home contained every convenience that Ethel had done without until now. She enjoyed a real home at last and the pride of her yard and flowers. Ethel was always interested in getting involved when her time would allow. She sang duets with her close friend Fern Pray, was a member of the Home Extension Club there. After moving to Colorado, she joined the First Methodist Church and was an active member. As club president of the Zonta International, in1958, she led the ceremonies to provide and place a time capsule in the corner stone of the newly constructed Public Library, an honor that gave her much pride and pleasure. The Garden Club was greatly enjoyed by Ethel with roses being her favorite flower to raise. Ethel donated time to the hospital and made tray favors for the patients. She belonged to a bowling league and a Pinochle Club. At the Methodist Church she helped to cook and serve many funeral and wedding dinners and made items for the annual bazaar. Ethel passed away after suffering a stroke �two years before, of heart failure and other complications on July 7, 1978. After seven brothers, Ethel was the only girl born to Daniel P. and Clara Belle Wise Miller, on Sept. 26, 1908 at Grenola, Ks. The Miller's were a hard working, close knit, family with strong religious background who later moved to Winfield, Kansas. It was here that Ethel attended grammar and high school where she graduated inL927. She enrolled in Wesley Hospital School of Nursing at Wichita, where she graduated as a registered nurse after 4 years in 1931. Ethel met Everett Hurst Sloan during nurses training years and they were married at her home on Feb. 21,L932 after which she moved to Kechi, Kansas to live on his farm there. To this union a son was born, Robert Lee on Mar. 4, 1933 and twin daughters, Virginia Lou and Carolyn Sue on May 20, 1936. The years were spent at Everett's side working hard to build a farm and ranch operation. Ethel lived a life of abiding faith in God that was enriched weekly as she attended Selzer Methodist Church' Ethel raised a garden and canned vegetables for winter food. With Robert's help, she milked the cows and separated the cream to churn into butter to sell in town. Beef was raised for fteezer meat and canned and was a major source of income. Chickens were raised for meat and eggs with the excess being sold to bring in necessary income. Good times were shared with family and neighbors on all special occasions and sometimes just for fun and to laugh was therapy for the soul. Later years found Everett was gone to work his leased land in western Kansas and Colorado. Ethel was left in charge of the farm and three children. In 1945, she joined Everett on the custom combining trail as a chief cook for the family and 5 hired men. They lived in a trailer home and traveled from Texas to North Dakota on an acreage in Burlington, Co. in 1948. It was here that her family moved their home and settled first car, a Model-T Ford, with tur money tbr $20.00, which he used to run his trap lines. Times were hard when he used his horse team in the oil fields near Wichita to dig slush pits for salt water. He also filled these pits in after the oil well was finished. He then farmed during the dry years and finally started a cow herd near Eldorado, Kansas. Everett married Ethel Wilma Miller on Feb. 21, t932, at her home in Winfield, Kansas. As the years went by they leased and bought land, where they farmed and raised cattle and pigs. In the war years he took his custom combining crews from Oklahoma to the Dakotas. He leased land in Colorado in 1948, and bought a trailer court. They built a Motel on this property, and also farmed raising wheat and later irrigated corn and beets. The motel still carried the family name, which was sold in 1963. After thirty one years of marriage Everett finally built his bride her dream home. They both enjoyed their home and took pride in keeping it looking nice. He continued to farm through custom helpers and leased out the rest. On February 24,1979, he married Stella E. Ciboski and they enjoyed each others company until his death on January 16, 1986. He passed away at the High Plains Health Center in Burlington, with internment in Fairview Cemetery along side of his wife, Ethel Wilma Miller Sloan, who had preceded him in death July 7,1978, by Carolyn Sloan Hansen SLOAN, SAM AND GERTRUDE F640 down. by Carolyn Hansen Gertrude Mae (Kious) and Samuel Wesly Sloan. Taken at the home of Bill and Lorris Wickham at a birthday party about 1946. homesteaded 9 mi. SE of Stratton. 1912 to West Plains, Mo. Two years trying to eke out a living amidst rocks, he dashed into the house demanding, "Gertie, you see any moss growin'on my back? Get ready; we're going back to Colorado!" To Flagler on the train with 'a suitcase under each arm' to a farm 9 mi. SE on Sand Creek. Lived a mile east of town at one time, and delivered milk, butter, and dressed chickens. The train killed 3 milk cows. Their home south of Flagler was an old sod house. Farmed oats, barley, spring wheat, corn, feed crops, and alfalfa. Killed a 6 ft. diamondback rattlesnake. Had cattle, horses, mules, hogs. Soil and early farming techniques poor so grain crops considered good at 12 bu. per acre. Sam built and maintained most of the first graded roads in west end of county under George Huntley, county commissioner. Most young fellows of community worked for him. Son Orris, with U.E. McBride in 1915 built the road from county line west of town, to river bridge east. It became Golden Belt Road, Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean, then highway 24. $5.00 a day working 4 of McBride's mules, and 4 of his own. Orris and Winona went to school at Sunnyside - cart and burro. Later with Dorris and Christina Galer to Second Central brggy, enclosed with isinglass, and horses. Neighbor Sol Stone built cement barn for Sloans, and later the house 150 yards west across the school district line, so children SLOAN, EVERETT HURST F639 Everett was born November 18, 1907, the eldest son of Matthew Hurst Sloan and Ethel Grier Sloan. An older sister Dorothy married Floyd Wolf of Andover, Kansas. His next younger brother was Harold Leroy Sloan of Mesa, Arizona and youngest sister was Edna May who married Vernon Hudson of Wichita, Kansas. Everett grew up on the family farm, near Andover, Kansas, worked with horses in the early days. Later he and his brother ran a steam engine threshing machine crew. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, and trapping. He and his friends trapped for fur to buy books and clothes for school and spending money. He learned at an early age what work was all about. He attended school in a one-room school house near the farm and graduated from Andover High School in 1926. He bought his This photo was taken at the home of Orris and Margaret Sloan at Selden KS. Orris'86th birthday and Lorris' 71st Birthday July 13, 1986. Samuel Wesley Sloan 2-15-1874 - 2-121950. son of John Fletcher and Samantha Ellen (Nebergall) Sloan. Gertrude Mae (Kious) Sloan 8-7-1880, first female White child born in Sheradan Co., Ks., daughter of George Lewis and Ida (Bayles) Kious. Sam, with parents, came from lll. to Nebr., then to Sheridan Co., Ks. by prairie schooner. Sam and Gertrude were married 8-11-1898. Children: Orris Benjamin 1900, adopted Winona Manuel 1903 - 1977, Dorris Christie Beatrice 1911, Lorris Ida Agnes 1915, Clarice Margaret Rosa 1917. Lost 2 infant sons. Traded their farm at Selden, Ks. in 1907 for horses, and cows, and in the spirit of adventure could go to Flagler school. Bad winters Will Lana, bus driver, used a sled and Sloan's mules. Heated soap stones and heavy comforters and 5 gal. cream cans of soup for the bus children's lunch, heated in the home ec room. Many young people lived with Sloans to attend Flagler High School. Hired men summer and winter for the farming, stack, and general chores. Orris had a header and neighbors helped each other harvest. Chilson, and Schifferns from Arriba irad threshing machines and made the rounds. Neighbors helped each other butcher, and the women canned vegetables, fruits, and meats. Gertrude was an excellent cook and an efficient practical nurse. She cared for the ill and delivered most of the neighborhood babies alone, or assisting Dr. H.L. Williams. The 1917-18 flu epidemic she, and Sam both went from home to home caring for the sick. Close friends, Mrs. Plopper, and daughter Glayds, �were among those who died. Sloans supported community and school never missed a basketball game when Dorris played (State champions in 1930). Good times for families: Literary, Box suppers, Pie socials, Sunday School, and Church at Second Central (Aunt Rose Stone taught children, Joe Short adults, and Rev. Adna Moore preached). Sloans helped establish the Fla- gler Baptist Church - company for Sunday dinner, and holidays, Farmers' Grange with County Agent and Home Demonstration Agents bringing new ideas, County Fair at Burlington, Medicine Shows (Chautauqua), rodeos with young fellows of communities participating. Sam and Orris got their calls for WWI in 1918. but the Armistice was signed prior to their date to report. 'Suitcase farmers' from Ks. and Nebr.. plowed up acres and acres of grass land. Dust bowl days ofthe 1930s brought a real "Grapes of Wrath' - air so full of red Okl. dust, a kerosene lamp was used at mid-day. Farmers took out loans, banks closed. Russian thistles were used to feed stock. Some hay was trucked in. Stock so ravenously hungry they ingested baling wire and died. Government bought cattle for almost nothing - shot and Arlene P. Ciboski Colburn. buried them. Stronghold farmers were forced to leave their homes. Sam and Gertrude went to Flagler - took a cow, and team ofhorses. He plowed gardens Kenneth N. Ciboski. - all the kids in town rode on his wagon. He bought land south of the railroad and built their home, and some small houses. He was always ready for a trade - horses, cows, land - often got'stuck'with locoed critters, and once got 2 settin'hens, and a goat to come out even. he, and his brother Tom from Selden, Ks., started to the Stock Show in Jan. 1950 - he became ill, had surgery, and blood clot took his life. Buried in the Flagler Cemetery on his 76th birthday. Gertrude became a resident at Good Samaritan Home, Simla, and died 9-4-1961, laid to rest beside her husband. Sam never met a stranger; his usual greeting to all he met on the street, "Hello, Kiddio!" Stella E. Sloan by Lorris Wickham SLOAN, STELLA E. F64l Wanda F. Ciboski Dalton. Phillip Ciboski and Stella E. Esslinger were married on May 4, 1933 in Norton, Kansas. Phillip and Stella went on a short honeymoon to Denver, Colorado and then on May 8, they made their home near Goodland, Kansas. They lived on the farm 20 miles north west of Goodland and struggled on this farm for 9 years during the dust bowl days and depression years from 1933 to the fall of 1942. President Hoover was President at the time and in 1934 President Roosevelt took over. A lot of banks had closed and hard times had taken over. President Roosevelt took over Steila E. and Phillip Ciboski, taken in Goodland, Kansas about 1948. and he closed the banks and got things rolling. In order for us to survive and have monev Everett H. Sloan to buy shoes for the children I milked 10 cows and separated the milk for the cream. I dressed 25 pound turkeys and sold them for $2.50 each, and sold eggs for 30 a dozen. We raised a bumper crop of corn in the fall of 1933 and sold it for 110 a bushel and we �Wanda F. Dalton and Arlene P. Colburn. In the fall of L942 we sold all our machinery. We had 2 cows left and a few chickens, and several pigs. We were forced out or else buy the farm so we moved to Denver, Colorado and purchased a home on 2630 South St. Paul. We bought a Chewolet car for $?50.00 the fall of L942. We could have sold it several times on account they couldn't get too many cars at that time because of the war. We could have gotten $1200 to $1500 for it but we could not sell it as we would not have had a vehicle to drive. Stella worked as a waitress in Bauer's uptown Denver and Shaners Bros. In 1946 we sold the home on South St. Paul and bought a business at Canon City, Colorado. Then in 1948 we sold the business, Fawn Hollow, in Canon City and bought a package store called Kenneth was a freshman in high school, Wanda was a seventh grader and Arlene was outstanding ability and salesmanship. These awards were received in 1952, 1955 and 1957. Stella also received a Max Factor cosmetics citation. Stella waited tables for another 8 hours after putting 8 hours in at the drug store. She started selling Compact Sweepers in 1958 and sold them until 1978. Phillip Ciboski passed away and she worked for a living. She was a widow for 10 years before she remarried. Stella began working for the Everett H. Sloan family in Burlington where she cared for Ethel Sloan until she passed away. On February 24, 1979 Stella E. married Everett H. Sloan. They made their home at 165 South Cherry in Burlington, Colorado. Stella and Everett enjoyed trips to the Flying X Ranch in Wheatland, Wyoming and also went south to Brownville, Texas and Port Isabell, Texas. On January 16 Everett H. Sloan passed away sary cake in 1937. It was an angel food consisting of five layers. I started with a dish pan and ended with any angel food cake pan. It took 30 dozen cases of egg whites. The cook stoves in those days were great and I used some cobs from the corn crop we raised in 1933 and the fall of 1934. My mother used a bouquet of soap weeds from the pasture which were beautiful for the family picture of their 25th wedding anniversary. Phil and Stella were blessed with three healthy children. Kenneth N. Ciboski, married. Arlene does volunteer work besides caring for her family. Dr. Colburn has received the MRI Scan. The images produced are of such amazing clarity that physicians abdomen and other organs and tissue masses. for 10 years. She received 3 citations for cheaper and we could not afford to buy coal any longer. We burned two grates out of the cook range that winter of 1933 and early 1934. We got hailed out 8 years out of the 9 years that we farmed. We sold the cows that were ready to calve for $5.00 each. There was no grass, no rain and no feed. The land right along the highway by Goodland sold for 250 and 500 an acre for the tax deed. I baked my parents'25th wedding anniver- Arlene Ciboski (Colburn) is married to Dr. Ralph M. Colburn Jr., twirler of Manhattan College in Manhattan, Kansas and was supervisor Hostess for TWA before she are able to pin point brain lesions and Stella also worked at Higdon's Drug Store finally decided to burn it for coal as it was Wichita. They have two girls, Kendra Lynn and Marla Nicole. After one year in Springfield we moved back to Goodland, Kansas. My husband and Ken farmed the Brinkmeier place and I waited in the first grade. Arlene and Dr.Colburn and girls. she is employed in the City building of City Liquor Store in Springfield, Colorado. tables. Wanda Dalton language. It is a very difficult language to know. His oldest daughter has studied Russian and had had 2Yz years of law at K.W. University where she graduated. Dr. Kenneth Ciboski is a Professor of Political Science in Wichita where he also teaches Russian and takes 30 college students to Russia every Christmas. He is married to Barbara Bell and after a short illness. Stella Sloan has 10 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren. They are: Brian Dalton of Columbus, Ohio; Geri Dalton Bester of Frankfort, Germany; Kent, Sheila and Craig Dalton of Reynoldsburg, Ohio; Kendra and Marla Ciboski of Wichita, Kansas; Rebecca, Sara and Catherine Colburn of Oregon, Wisconsin. The great grandchildren are; Michael and Brent Bester of Frankfort, Germany where their father, Tim Bester, is a surveyor in the Armed Service; Ryan Michael Dalton, son of Brian Dalton who is employed at Seafood Co.; and two step-great grandchildren of Mr. and Mrs. Gary Sloan. Wanda Ciboski is married to L.R. Dalton and reside in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. L.R. worked for Fiedestia Co. and is now employed by Unlimited Co. and Wanda is employed by a large loan company. They have five children, Brian and Geri Kay are married and have children. The twins, Kent and Sheila Jo are working and attending college, and Graig Francis is in high school. Kenneth Ciboski earned two degrees, one at Washington State and one at the University of Kansas at Lawrence. Kenneth earned straight A's in the study of Russian Languages. He feels that if you want to get along with the Russians you have to speak their identify problems of the spinal column, heart, Dr. Colburn is a neuro radiologist specially trained in magnetic resonance imaging. He is the medical director of Turville Bay Center and one of the staff physicians who design monitors and interpret MRI Scans. Dr. Colburn is a graduate of Northwestern University Medical School. He was a medical resident at Boston City Hospital and Harvard Medical unit, the Edwards Mallenckrost Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine of St. Louis, Missouri, and at Anchorage, Alaska. He was a former Director of Medical Imaging at St. Mary's Hospital Medical Center of Madison. Currently he is also Chief of Medical Staff at Stoughton Hospital, Stoughton, Wisconsin. Dr. and Mrs. Colburn have three girls, Rebecca Arlene, sophomore in college; Sara Noelle, sophomore in high school; and Catherine Demours, 8th grade. by Stella Sloan SMELKER - BUNCH FAMILY F642 Myrtle Violet Smelker, the oldest child of Charles and Luella Smelker, was born January 23, 1900. Myrtle had eight younger brothers so she always had to help her mother with the household and other chores. One Christmas she remembered finding presents ofhair ribbons, pencils, and tablets. She and brother Victor went to Sunday school south of the Smelker homestead, which was the first school they attended. Myrtle taught school in some of her early years. Myrtle married Cage Bunch on October 18, 1920. To this union seven children were born; Lyle 1921, Charles 1922, Oris l924,Roy 1926, Erma 1928. Arlene 1930 and Duane 1931. They moved to Boulder in 1947 and to Longmont in 1960. Myrtle and Cage were old time square dancers and belonged to several clubs and enjoyed dancing their remaining days. Myrtle died on December 8, 1986. Cage died in August 1987. by Mary Ann Smelker � https://kccarchives.cvlcollections.org/files/original/17/507/Families-S2.pdf 3d3afced18134822d12da16990cb0982 PDF Text Text SMELKER - HAZEN FAMILY F643 brother-in-laws - n O'Holloran and Tru- man Hazen, we-,c l^rst in March 1907. They carne on an emigrant car which required an attendant with a car when stobk was shipped. Charlie started preparing for his family by building a frame building on their homestead thirteen miles south and two west of Stratton. The building was fourteen by sixteen and is still part ofthe house. This part ofthe house is now the kitchen which was built in 1918 and added on to again in 1976. It is now the home of Ivan and Wilma Smelker. The women and children came later by train. They were Luella and her four children, Myrtle, Victor, George and Leon who was the baby; Luella's Mother Eliza Hazen and her three children, Irene O'Holloran, Ina, and 15 year old son Leonel; and Irene O'Hollorans' two children John and Florence. Victor remembers seeing his grandfather T.W. Smelker for the last time, as he came to Yankton to see them off on the train. Luella, George, Charles, Leonel and Ina and their mother Eliza. Truman home- steaded 10 miles south and r/z mile west of Stratton. George, Charlie, Leonel and their mother Eliza homesteaded close by. The Hazen family were vivid horseshoe players. At many family gatherings they would play all day long. Children also had their own peg and horseshoes and would play amongst themselves. Truman married Ethel Jones in 1916 and lived there til moving to town in 1945. They had no children. Truman was a great baseball fan and played for Beaverton, which was 12 miles south and 3 miles east of Stratton. They are both buried in the Stratton cemeterv. Mother Eliza Hazen is buried in Colorado Springs. George and Leonel moved back to Minnesota and Charles to Idaho. by Mary Ann Smelker Victor remembers very well aniving in Omaha, Nebraska, as he and John were told to keep hold of hands. They got caught around a lamp post and wouldn't let go. Eliza Haze, the grandmother, had to come back and rescue them. SMELKER MAGNUSON FAMILY F644 Upon arriving in Stratton, Colorado, in April 1907, Luella and her small brood, her Charles V. Smelker and Luella Hazen Smelker with daughter Myrtle in 1901. Charles Virgil Smelker and Sadie Luella Hazen were married in South Dakota. They lived in Worthing and Wagner, South Dakota. where their four oldest children were born. They were Myrtle 1900, Victor 1901, George 1904, and Leon 1906. the five youngest children were born in Stratton, Colorado. They were Wesley 1909, Delmar 1911 (died as a baby), Theodore 1914, Ivan 1918, and Dean 1921. While living in South Dakota, they rented the farmed land which was part of the Sioux Indian Reservation. As more and more families were going to areas where one could homestead, they decided to go also. With a flip of a coin they decided to go to Colorado. Charlie and his mother and sisters were much welcomed by all waiting their arrival. Charlie had been busy helping others build their houses on their own homesteads, as he was at his best doing carpenter work. He, in years to come, helped build wood and sod houses and dig @-*n*nc.o .e," . wells to supplement their income. They did not have a well on the Smelker homestead until 1914. They hauled water with an old horse called "Fritz" and 2 barrels for all those years. Before 1914, they hauled from the Minor Warren Homestead, r/t amile north. Before that well was dug, they hauled from the old Wagner ranch which was 4 miles north of the Smelker homestead and % mile east. A.V. Harden was a well driller in early days. He was a cousin to Luella Smelker and cnme to the Stratton area in 1907. Wes Bryant, Charlie Smelker and his son Victor hunted coyotes as a past time and extra income. They used a model T car to chase them down over the open prairies. They used a 22 rifle to shoot them. The Charles V. Smelker children: Myrtle, Victor, George, Leon, Wasley, Theodore, Ivan and Dean. Theodore J. Smelker family around 1957: Helen, Sharon, Ted holding Teddy and Loren Helen Marie Magnuson Smekler about 1920 �Shannon. Some of Helen's schoolmates at Lone Star included: Ethel Kasten, a classmate; Esther Kasten, Zella Wilson, Maxine Coe, Earl Coe, Edna Chinburg, Bernice Nelson, George McNeill, William McNeill' Fred Krei, Glade Larsen, Delmer Calloway, Floyd Calloway, and Dorothy Calloway. In 1931, at 12 yrs. of age, Helen moved with her family to a farm L6r/z mi. southwest of Bethune, CO. The farm was located on the NW% of 36-11-46 at the south edge of K.C. County; this is now State Land. Helen grew up on the farm along with her other sisters, Violet (Bunch), Ila (Hobgood), Vivian (Stjernhotm), and Dolores Magnuson. Helen was a great help to her mother during these years with her younger sisters and the farm, as her father had become ill and was hospitalized, at Ft. Lyons beginning in 1935. She attended school and graduated from First Central in 1936. While a high school student, Helen had been a newspaper correspondent for "The Call", a Burlington newspaper at that time. Some of Helen's schoolmates at First Central included: Lylah Ayres, Dale Lesher, Ivan Smelker, Inez Perkins, Edgar Geist, Sarah Mitchell, Estelyn Whitmore, June McArthur, and Lunette S. among Wedding picture of Elmer O. Magnuson and Mary Thomann Magnuson, October 24, l9l7 purchased some ground on his own. This included the EVz of LO-I2-47, which he purchased in the late 1940's from the Homesteader Nellie P. Flanery. This is Ted's family farm today, and is centrally located between Stratton and Kit Carson, in Cheyenne County. There was nothing, except for a windmill, on this piece of ground when Ted bought it. In 1948, along with his brothers and other friends, they built a big wooden grainery building on the place. After completion they threw a big celebration and dance, where Ted helped with the music by playing the fiddle. Around 1951, Ted purchased and moved the old Oriska School House in, and set it by the grainery. Oriska School had been just north of here 3 mi. in Kit Carson County. While still living at Cheyenne Wells, Ted and Helen had a second child, a boy, Loren Dee, born Feb. 15, 1952. In 1953 Ted moved his family from Cheyenne Wells out to the farm. The old Oriska School House became their new home for a year, while plans were underway to build a new house on the place. Again, with the special carpentry skills of brother Victor, who inherited his skills from his father, Charles, and with the help of a man by the name of Ralph Carrell. others. Among some of Helen's teachers were: by Terri Smelker Griffeth, Jennie Tressel, Campbell, Thelma Armstrong, and Otis O. Ross. Ted Smelker and Helen dated and loved to Theodore J. Smelker was born Dec. 13th, 1914, to Charles Virgil Smelker and Luella Sadie (Hazen) Smelker at their homestead 12 mi. south, 2 mi. west and again 1 mi. south of Stratton, CO, which is now the Ivan Smelker Place. Ted's given name at birth was John Theodore Smelker, but disliking his name, he later changed it to Theodore John. He was 1 of 9 children, who included, the eldest and only sister, Myrtle (Bunch), and 7 brothers, in order of birth and including Ted are: Victor, George, Leon, Wes, Delmer (who died in infancy), Ted, Ivan and Dean. They all grew up on the Smelker Homestead and attended the Smelker School by their home. Ted was said to have been babied a lot by his Mother and by his older sister, Myrtle, whogave him most everything he wanted. For many years he was known to family and friends as "Mama's Pet" which was later shorteneC to "Pet". He quit school after the 8th Grade and for a while helped out on his parents' farm, but being independent, as he was, he set out on his own and worked many odd jobs around, including some time spent on a ranch up by Canon City. His younger brother, Ivan, was also able to get work on the ranch, and when he arrived, Ivan was informed by Ted, that he was not to call him "Pet", on the ranch he was known aB "Ted, NOT PET!" In the 30's, Ted also worked at the CCC Camp out north of Cheyenne Wells for a time. He began dating Helen Marie Magnuson in 1936; she was a Senior at First Central High School at that time. Helen was originally from the Burlington area, and was the first of 5 girls born, Sept. 28, 1918, to Elmer Otto Magnuson and Mary (Thomann) Magnuson. Her baby book showed she was a big baby, weighing 10 lbs. at birth. Helen attended the Lone Star School, in Burlington's District 25, up until March 1931. County Superintendent during some of this time was Della Hendricks, also her teachers included Mona Danforth, Leonard Ziemann and Geneviene attend the many dances held in the area at that time. Dances were held at Smokey Hill' Perry Taylor's Place, Thomas Taylor's Place and Peter's Barn. In June 193?, Helen moved to Colo. Springs, where she stayed with her Uncle Arnold and Aunt Vera Thomann, where she attended and graduated from Flowers Beauty College. Ted put on many miles between the Springs and the First Central area courting Helen, and in July got himself a Model A Coach, which he was very proud of. On Sept. 3rd, Ted and Helen became engaged. Helen began her beauty career working for Mildred Wynne at a Beauty Shop in the Springs, and Ted, after working many odd jobs around, moved to Victor, CO., to be closer to Helen and to work in the gold mines there. It was a surprise to most everyone, except their parents, when the news of Ted and Helen's marriage leaked out about 3 weeks after the fact, and was printed in the newspaper. They had been married on Dec. 18, 1938, at Fountain' CO., witnessed by Ted's cousin, Orie Hightower, and Alma (Stone at that time) Hightower, both of Colo. Springs. In their newspaper write up of the secret marriage, "The Call", extended their good wishes for Ted and Helen's future success and happiness, but felt that they had somehow "slipped" in their training of the bride, (during her high school yrs). As they quipped in the paper, "She was always a good reporter and well knowing a newspaper loves a SCOOP, we wonder why she didn't let us in on the secret. Good Luck, Helen!" Ted and Helen lived, and both worked in Victor, CO., for a short time, then moved to Cheyenne Wells, CO., where Ted helped manage the Shamrock Filling Station and farmed in partnership with Art Milheim. They had their first child on Aug.22,L94L, a girl, Sharon Lee (Rhoades), born at the hospital in Burlington. During this time Ted was always looking into land purchases and deals. He wanted to farm! He traded his share of the filling station to Art for some land and SMELKER MAGNUSON FAMILY F645 who lived southeast of Stratton, and with the help of some of Ted's other brothers, and some good neighbors, like Ed Peters, Harry Pike. and Oris and Willard Blankenbaker, Ted and Helen's brand new home was built in 1953. The family lived in the basement of the house for a time, while doing the finishing touches to the upstairs. There were many a good time had by family and friends from all around the area, as Ted and Helen had lots of get-togethers in their basement. A story is still being told about a neighbor, Hary Pike, who hung by his heels from the basement rafters at a party. On Aug. 28, 1956, Ted and Helen's family was complete with the birth of another beautiful baby boy, Theodore Ray (Teddy), who was born at K.C. County Memorial Hospital in Burlington. Ted and Helen, now with their familY, Sharon, Loren, and young Ted, worked side by side during those years building up their farm and cattle operation, and supported many community affairs. In 1963 the family was struck with tragedy, when Helen's health began to fail. She knew something was wrong and within a few months, doctors discovered that she had cancer. Helen died at the early age of 45 yrs, on Feb. 29th, Leap Year, 1964, at the Burlington Hospital. Sharon, age 22, and husband, Bob Rhoades, who were attending college at Ft. Collins, CO., moved back home during that summer to help her dad with the family farm and to help with her 2 younger brothers, Loren now 12, and Teddy only 7Yz yrs. old. During Ted's bereavement he depended a great deal on his buddies and neighbors for support. Harry and Ethel Pike helped for many years in the raising of Loren and �SMELKER - VICTOR FAMILY F646 Coyote hunting,1923: Victor and Charles Smelker and their friend, Wes Bryant Victor Delos Smelker was born in Worthing, South Dakota, on December 26, 1901. He moved with parents, Charles Smelker and Luella Hazen Smelker, to Stratton, Colorado, in 1907. He has many memories of living his Mother Luella smelker with her 8 children: wes, Leon, George, victor, Dean, Myrtle, Ivan, and red in the late 1960's hospital in Denver. Ted and Helen's children are all married now with families of their own. Sharon and Bob Rhoades, live at Benkelman, NE., where Bob has built up a Veterinarian business and Sharon works at the Benkelman State Bank. They have 3 children, Keri, now married to Rich Ham, with 2 children of their own. Adrienne and Jonathan. Sharon and Bob's Theodore J. Smelker in the earlv 1930's at his parents homestead Teddy. Even after they moved to Kit Carson, their home was a special place for Loren and Teddy to visit and stay during their school years at Kit Carson, CO. On Nov. 23, L964, Ted married A. Larie (Beecham) Bauman, whose children were: Martin, Cordella (Pickerill), Rollan, and Sylvan. In the 1970's, Ted developed heart trouble and underwent 2 open heart bypass surgeries. He returned to his home after these operations and continued to work along with his sons, not as physically strong as before, but determined to stay active and be involved. Upon semi-retirement in 1978, Ted and Larie moved to Stratton, CO. Ted was in the process of turning over the farm to his boys, but since farming and ranching were always an important and rewarding part of his life, he drove out the 22 mi. most every day from Stratton, where he would spend long hours driving tractor. In the later half ofthe year, 1981, Ted was not feeling good and spent most of the month of December in the hospital. After Christmas, he was sent to St. Joseph's Hospital in Denver for tests. Ted suffered from a combination of ailments besides his heart trouble. which included diabetes. And on Jan. 14th, 1982, Ted had a fatal heart attack and died at the other children are Dana, who is a senior in College, and Brett a senior at Benkelman High School. Loren and Terri (George) reside at the home that Ted and Helen built in 1953. It has changed face since then, and is a wonderful home for our family. We have 2 boys, Ryan and Kyle who both attend grade school at Stratton Elementary. Ryan is in the 3rd grade and his teacher is Mrs. Karen Topp; Kyle is in kindergarten and Mrs. Betty Smith is his teacher. We also have a little girl, Amber, who is 3/z yrs. old and will go to Preschool next year. Young Ted and Trina (Bussen) live just south of the Home Place about a Vz mile. They have 3 little girls: Kylie, who is in 2nd grade at Stratton and has Ms. Barry for a teacher; Cassie who is 2 yrs. old; and Chelsea who is a baby at 8 months of age. Loren and Ted run the family farm that was passed on to them and worked so hard for, by their parents. The boys work together, sometimes still, with a well known "Smelker Argument". They are implementing new ideas and working toward the growth of our family farm together! by Terri Smelker early years on the eastern Colorado plains. One of his early recollections when he was about eight, was of getting up early and looking for the horses, walking r/z mile one way then the other and didn't ever know where they might be. Vic said some days he bet he walked 30 miles. His father couldn't go and would always send Vic. Their four horses they farmed out. Sometimes folks would keep them a few days which helped, but other days would always have to look for them. Vic ran his legs off some days as those horses would go four and five miles. Once as he was walking out in the open prairie, a coyote was coming straight at him, it didn't even see him and came right on. It scared Vic to death, but the coyote later saw him and turned off. Vic went to school no more than 3 or 4 months a year. The first school was a mile south of the homestead and he would alwavs walk. School was a one room soddie. Later the Smelker School was built close to the Smelker home. Vic always wanted to go to school more, but it seemed there was always feed to pick and the like. He usually went from Christmas time until spring work started. Myrtle went to school fulltime, until she got to the 8th grade. Vic caught up with her. Both of them took the 8th grade Supt. test to pass. He passed . . she didn't and he said his mother was mad. Their teacher was a Mrs. Austin. Vic was always gifted in Math. Around his fifth year he could put all down he took on. Other kids complained he didn't study, so the teacher took him on and he beat her. He got in a year of high school Algebra while in school, which was easy for him. His father wasn't near the farmer as he was a carpenter and builder. Vic worked with his father building and doing carpenter work, from whom he learned very much. In 1918, when he was 17 years old, he went to Victoria, Kansas, and worked for some Germans named Brungardt. He said they had very good meals all the time and good lunches in between. He went with his Uncle George and Leonel Hazen, who also worked in Kansas one summer at harvest time. Before this he would work for neighbors during the summers, usually for 750 a day. In 1923, Victor started working for the Denver & Rio �Grande Railroad from Salida to Colorado Springs, along the Arkansas River. Victor married Joyce Melton in 1929 while living in Pueblo, where he had worked for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. In 1930 they moved to the Nutbrook place, 10% miles south and 1 mile west of Stratton. In 1932 they moved to the Horstine place 9% miles south and 1 mile west of Stratton. In 1938, they moved 9 miles south and % miles west, where they still own farm ground. Vic and house on the Warren homestead was of sod, being replaced with a two story house made of lumber in 1919. Both houses were built by Minor with relatives and friends helping. Minor also being a trapper sold furs of badgers, skunks and rabbits. Means oftransportation was by a team of horses and wagon or buggy. The travel to and from Stratton took all day. When traveling in the winter, bricks were heated to take along for extra warmth. Cow chips were burned for heat. In the early years of our parents, George and Wilma, recreation was horse back riding, Joyce moved into Stratton in 1964. The sons and daughters of this family are Dorothy, Ralph, Carl and Elsie. They attend- ed Grandview, Nutbrook and Stratton schools. The family lived, farmed and grew up at the above mentioned places. These were not always easy times with drought and depression times, but there were always good times with family and friends. Vic worked as a carpenter while farming most of his working years. Then later building homes in the Stratton area. In Pueblo, he was a bridge foreman on the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. House built on Minor and Emma Warren's farm in 1919; 1952 picture. other children Verla, Velma, Lela (died in infancy), Lola, Myrna, Franklin, Twila, Una and Arva were born. All the children wire born at home with Mrs. Deere, a midwife, being present for five of the children and Dr. Cavey for the remaining four. Minor and a very good cook and known for her hard work and tidy habits, she enjoyed working. Not just the enjoyment it brought but being able Emma Warren continued to live at the homestead also until their death, Minor in to give her children and grandchildren special 1955 and Emma in 1962. Besides farming during the 1930's, George, with his team of horses and wagon worked for WPA, helping things. Dorothy married Walter Clark and lives in Limon. Ralph lives in Stratton. Carl married Mary Ann Stegman and lives in Colorado Springs. Elsie married Richard May and lives in Stratton. Vic and Joyce live in Stratton at present and will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary in 1989. They have 12 grandchildren build roads and bridges in Kit Carson County. He also participated with other farmers on rabbit roundups to reduce the and L3 great grandchildren. by Mary Ann Smelker SMELKER - WARREN F647 the first year farming on the Cohorn farm where Vivian was born. In 1925 they moved to the original Warren homestead where the Joyce worked at several restaurants in Stratton after her children were grown. Being FAMILY swimming in creeks because of a big rain and Saturday night dances held in homes, school houses or haylofts, the latter being a family affair. In 1923 George and Wilma hiked up Pikes Peak, facing rain, sleet and hail. It took six hours to go up and three hours to come down. They were married in 1923 and spent Minor and Emma Warren's 50th wedding anniversarv in 1950. overpopulation of rabbits. Highlights of the years were family's gathering at Christmas time at Charles and Luella Smelker's home. The day was filled with aromas from a Pot Luck Dinner, elders playing cards and laughter of children playing games. This tradition was carried on for many years. In 1949 water was piped into the house and in 1951 much to everyone's delight electricity became a reality. An addition was added in 1952 making it possible to have a bathroom inside. Oh, how nice not having to go outside to the "priwy" on a cold winter night. In 1969 an irrigation well was dug. George and Wilma continued to farm until George's death in 1971. Wilma remained on the homestead until 1974. She moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado where she made her home with her daughter Twila until her death in 1986. The eldest daughter, Vivian, passed away in 1987. by Verla Martinez and Twila Smelker SMELKER, MR. AND MRS. CHARLEY Sod house on Minor and Emma Waren's homestead in 1908. F648 Mr. and Mrs. Charley Smelker came out here from Yankton. South Dakota. When they were in South Dakota they lived on a rented part of the Sioux Indian Reservation. Mr. Smelker came with an emigrant car. They required an attendant with a car where Our grandparents, Charles and Luella Smelker, with children, Myrtle, Victor, George, (our Dad) and Leon moved from South Dakota to a homestead 16% miles southwest of Stratton, Colorado in 1907. Our other grandparents, Minor and Emma Warren and children, Myrtle, Wilma, (our Mother) and Loring (Bud) moved from stock was shipped. Mrs. Smelker cnme on the train in April, 1907. They built a frame building on their Bonesteel, South Dakota, to a homestead 16 miles southwest of Stratton, Colorado in 1908, arriving by immigrant train. The first George and Wilma Smelker about 1963. homestead thirteen miles south and two miles west of Stratton. The building was �fourteen by sixteen. Mr. Smelker learned to build sod houses, and helped Tom Kelly, who built a sod house on what we knew as the John Fisher or later as the Albert Peters place. He also helped Mrs. Woods and her two sons who were east of Tom Kelly, and Mike Bell, who built a soddy on what was later the Parks place. Mrs. Woods was a mother-in-law of the two men, Kelly and Bell. While they were living there, the Kelly's had two babies die, and Mike Bell lost one baby. Mrs. Smelker helped to made a casket. Charley made the frame and box and Mrs. Smelker lined them first with cotton batting and then white silk, lid and all. I asked where they bought white silk, it it was a wedding dress or what? She said she didn't know. but thought he bought it. If he did, it was real silk in that day. The kind of thread spun by worms, not synthetic as we have now-a-days. She said Mrs. Lowe. the mother of Art Lowe of Burlington helped her with one casket and she couldn't remember who the other one was who helped. One she blind stitched around the top, keeping the stitches hidden, and the other they got brass tacks and used them to hold the silk in folds. They looked very pretty when done. The graves were dug a mile south of Smelkers' on a hillside southeast of the sod school which was just a mile south of them. Prayer was held at the graves. While Mike Bell lived here, there was a Sunday School at this sod school south of Smelkers. Mr. Bell was the superintendent, and gave Vick Smelker and his sister, Myrtle, a Bible for coming regularly to Sunday School. Smelkers, Kellys, Bells and Woods all walked, so the horses could eat on Sunday, as they had nothing to feed them but the prairie grass. And these same horses had to put in the crops. They would turn them out an hour or so at noon for their feed. There was a sod school eleven miles south and on west of Stratton, south of what was then Nutbrook. Harry Greenwood and one of these Woods boys went to school together there. One of the Woods boys, Uhl, worked for Carl Harrison's father. The Smeklers later built a lovely, commodious farm home. The lvan Smelkers live on the farm now, and have raised their family the Cheyenne Wells cemetery. Anna Belle still lives in Cheyenne Wells. by Mary Ann Smelker SMELKER, IVAN F650 Ivan Smelker, eighth child of Charles and Luella Smelker, grew up on a farm south of Stratton. He attended first through eighth grades at the Smelker School, and ninth through twelfth grades at First Central graduating in 1936. Ivan married Wilma Schaal in 1938. A family of five children were born, Gerald, Gladys, Charles, Doyle and Dolores. Ivan and Wilma first lived on a farm south of Bethune for four years. Then they moved to the Harry Greenwood farm south of Stratton and in 1948 moved to the Smelker homestead where they still live. Ivan and Wilma both grew up on a farm, having farmed all their married life which is going on 50 years. Wilma as a mother, helped on the farm doing every extra job from milking cows to driving a truck. Ivan, always a farmer, has served many years for public service. He has served as a School Board member, FHA Committee, and ASCS Committee. Gerald graduated from high school in 1957. He served in the Marines for three years. He married Lela Synder in 1961 and they have four children. At present, he is an auctioneer and they have their own sale at Wellington, CO. They live in Fort Collins, CO. Gladys graduated from high school in 1959. She married Harry Norman and they have four children. At present, they have their own construction company and live at North Platte, Nebraska. Charles graduated from high school in 1962. He attended college at Fort Collins and Pueblo graduating in 1967. He married Gloria Hoffman in 1967 and thev have three children. After college, he joined the Army Air Force and served two years in Viet Nam as a helicopter pilot. At present he is farming at Columbus, New Mexico. Doyle graduated from high school in 1963. He went to college at Sterling, graduating in 1968, and then finished college at Fort Collins. He joined the National Guard and had his basic training at Fort Bliss, Texas. He married Christine Lacey in 1971 and they have five children. They live on a farm south of Stratton. CO. Dolores graduated from high school in 1963. She attended Beauty School in Denver graduating in 1964. She worked at B & B Drug and First National Bank in Stratton. She married LeeRoy Rehor and they have three children. At present they live on a farm south of Joes, CO. by Ivan Smelker SMELKER, LEON F651 Leon Smelker grew up at his family homestead south of Stratton and attended school at the Smelker School. He was born in South Dakota in 1906. In the 1930's he worked for the Zurchers for 91.00 a day and dinner. Leon married Alice G. Milheim in July 1931, at Burlington, Colorado. They Iived on the Nutbrook place lUYz miles south and 1 mile west of Stratton when their first child Carol was born. There were 2 more daughters in the family, Joan and Elaine. Joan died in 1945. Elaine lives in Denver and Carol lives in Florida. In 1940, Leon being very industrious and needing to make a living for his family, bought a binder and later a corn picker. For some years he custom bound feed and picked corn for many farmers in the area. In 1942, Leon and Alice bought the Gilmore place 16 miles south and 2 miles west of Stratton, where they worked side by side until retire- there. Mr. and Mrs. Smelker are both deceased. by Dessie Cassity SMELKER, DEAN F649 Dean Smekler, ninth child of Charles and Luella Smelker, grew to manhood at the Smelker homestead, south of Stratton. In 1941, he married Anna Belle Winters of Cheyenne Wells. To this union four children were born; Lercy 1942, Delmar 1944, Cheryl 1947, and Ruth 1953. Dean and Anna Belle lived with Luella Smelker for sometime, then Dean went to the Army in 1944. After getting out of the service, he worked in Cheyenne Wells for his brothers Wesley and Ted. He later went to work at the Cheyenne Wells Lumber Company. He worked there until he retired. Dean died March 16, 1984, and is buried in The Ivan Smelker family October 1987. Standing; Charles, Gladys, Delores, Doyle, Gary.Seated; Ivan and Eilma Smelker. �two-story, brick schoolhouse that was where the elementary school is today. After graduating from Colorado Woman's College, I was the fashion writer in the advertising department of the Neusteter's store in Denver until my marriage in Aug. of 1945 to Lt. Kermit J. Buol in the chapel of the Plymouth Congregational Church in Denver, and Burlington again became my home. Here, we have raised our family; John, Denise Nettleton, and Diana Wiggins. They too received 12 years of education in the Burlington schools, and went on to Colorado State University. The 5th generation is now sharing the legacy of those early homesteaders. The tune of the old-time fiddler and the sing-song call of the square dance rise from :@ %b** Charles and Luella Smelker and sons Ivan and Theodore in 1922 ment. In November 1941, while Leon was who were of legal age, all filed for homesteads pi"f.i"g corn, he got his arm caught in the on land they "proved-up on" north of the then young town of Burlington. cor.t picker. Vail Derby helped him get it out Returning from 18 months of service with fv tuii"g the braces oif tnu snap rollers. His getting the U.S. Army in World War I, Edmond After roller. second the was-into aim hi- to the house, his wife Alice, pu1 on a Osgood Smith, the youngest of the family, resumed his farming interests. It was several tourniquet and his brother Ted took him to Burlington to the hospital. He was there 11 years later that he was to meet a young "schoolmarm" from Arkansas. It was a long J"y, *il"h cost $87.0b. trip to town by horse and wagon. Other times iJpon retiring Leon and Alice moved to he was able to borrow his brother Myron's 19?3. in Alice died where Color"ado, Littieton, R-orn and Sn" i* l,rri"a in the Stratton cemetery. Leon Ford Model-T to go "sparking"' later moved back to the farm, where he still lives. by Mary Ann Smelker SMELKER, WESLEY F652 Wesley Virgil Smelker, 5th child of Charles V. and Sadie Luella Smelker, was born May 9, 1909, on his parents homestead near Stratton, Colorado. He married Dorothy Grace Freeman, of Kit Carson, Colorado, on July 30, 1929. To this union was born one son, Gaylord Wesley. Wesley and Dorothy farmed near Kit Carson until 1935 at which time they moved with son Gaylord to Cheyenne Wells. He was in business at the Shamrock Garage and Farm Supply for 21 years. Wesley died September 20, 1968. Gaylord married Mary Ethel Byers, of Cheyenne Wells. They live in Canon City. by MarY Ann Smelker FAMILY F653 Born June 29, 1853 at Friendship, N.Y., my grandfather, Moses T. Smith, "came West" from Wyoming, Iowa in 1906 to settle on land in eastern Colorado, where he "broke sod" to farm, and raised livestock. Grandmother, Ella Collins Smith, joined him in 1910, and those of the family of six sisters and brothers, on a Saturday night. Time and the winds have taken their toll, but my birthplace still stands, a silent reminder of those Iong ago days. When the yucca sends forth its blossoming spires in June, and summer carpets the pastures with tenacious wildflowers, echoes of the past speak softly to this daughter of the prairie. by Dorene Smith Buol SMITH - GANGWISH FAMILY F664 educated near Gurdon, Arkansas, Grace L. Smith was encouraged to come to Colorado by her sister, Emma Dickey, who lived in Burlington, so she declined an offer of a chair in mathematics to bring "readin','riting and 'rithmetic" to frontier children, teaching one term at the Ritzius school before taking a school in the German settlement. On May 8, 1923, Smith and Smith were wed at the Methodist parsonage in Burlington by the Rev. Gatley. On a wintery, snowy March day in 1924, in the bedroom of an adobe house on the homestead. I was ushered into the world by Dr. E.J. Remington. A short time later, my dad was appointed by the U.S. Postal Service to be the first rural carrier north out of Burlington, and he became the proud owner of his first car. We moved into town, where we shared "Grandma" Boyles'house until we would move into our newly-built home on 9th St., where my brother, Leland, and I grew up in a neighborhood where there were vacant lots for digging caves or a game of "work-up", and kids to join in playing "kick the can" and other games on a summer evening. There were family get-togethers and vacation trips to visit relatives, and sometimes I was allowed to go to "the farm" for a week or so, where I would help with "the chores". SMITH - BUOL the ashes of the big barn built in the 30's, once a countryside gathering place for good times Cousins went to country schools where we often attended programs and box socials, and they lived with us at various times to go to High School. At the age of 6, death left Jeanette Smith Stahlecker motherless, and she was raised in our home. After 33 years carrying the mail, my dad retired in Nov. 1958. and he died in 1961. My mother died in March 1982, a few days before her ninety- Leonard and Geraldine Smith sitting in their front yard with Leonard's sheep dog Rex. Aren't many a. shade here. You should see their home lr;T: Leonard O. Smith was born March 17, 1923, four miles from his present home south of Flagler, Colorado. He is the only child of N.A. and Etta C. Farmer Smith. His parents came to the Flagler area from Jetmore, Kansas, in 1918. Until 1925 they lived four miles southeast of the present ranch. After World War I, they moved to Ordway, Colorado, and then to Sugar City, Colorado, where they farmed and ran a hardware store and creamery. In 1938 they moved back to Flagler to what is now the south ranch. At first they ran sheep, then changed to yearling cattle. Leonard was educated in the public schools of Sugar City and Flagler, graduating from Flagler High School in 1941. After graduation, he went into partnership with his father on the ranch. Geraldine Margaret Gangwish was born October L7,1922,in Roseland, Nebraska. She moved to the Arriba community at the age of second birthday. Later that year, my brother six months. Here she grew to womanhood and graduated from Arriba High School in 1940. was killed in an accident. For all 12 years, I went to school in the old, Colorado Springs and later worked in the She then attended Blair Business College in �ordinance depot at Camp Carson. Leonard and Geraldine were married on Sunday, September 17, L944, at the country home of the bride's uncle and aunt. Camping and fishing were a favorite of theirs, so naturally they took a long honeymoon trip to the mountains around Glenwood Springs, Colorado. In 1946 they ordered a boat from the Speigel catalog and it came to the depot in town. People thought they were nuts to have a row boat ties on top of their car! Especially in eastern Colorado! Boating and fishing are still a favorite pastime, and their children Robert and Renee sure like to water ski. Leonard is known for his work in soil conservation and water development. Thru the years, he has steadily developed grass and water resources on his land. From 1960 to 1965 he built 45 dams, 122 miles of terraces, and developed six springs. During the 70's and 80's Leonard has completed two great plains contracts and continued his management of range and cropland by building more dams, adding more terraces, and completing a stockwater pipeline of more than five miles to five different tanks. he has altered the management of his rangeland to achieve maximum grass production with minimum erosion and believes in and practices stripcropping and stubble mulching methods of farming. Leonard has received the Outstanding Cooperator of the year award in the Flagler District twice, in 1961 and 1979. Leonard and Geraldine love trees. Seems like they plant a few trees every year somewhere on their ranch. (I should say a bunch of trees!) Geraldine's dream is to have the Republican River that runs by their house lined with trees. Her dream is coming true. There are a few starting, thanks to tender loving care and a fence to keep the cows out. When they moved to their home in 1944 there weren't any trees. They have planted thousands of trees over the last 40 years. Their home now is an ggOasis On The Plains". After a brief illness in 1981. Leonard is taking things a little easier. With the help of at Vona, Colorado. Their children were George Richard Payne born 1933, William Albert Payne born 1935, and Donald Gordon Payne born 1940. George died May 1G, 1966. Laura married second Merle N. Jones on March 13, 1971, at Ustich, Idaho. Laura now lives at Bosie, Idaho. 2. Gordon Alfred Smith was born March 12, 1919, at Loveland, Colorado. Gordon married Donna Doris Clark in 1946 at Kuna, Ada co., Idaho. Donna was born Lg26 at Weber, Kansas. Their children were Leila Christine Smith born 1945, Jerry Lee Smith born 1947, Danny LeRoy Smith born 1952, and Mickey Leon Smith born 1953. They now live at Meridian, Idaho. 3. Bert Jr. Smith was born March 24, L922, at Stratton, Colorado. His nickname is June. He is single and now lives at Meridian, Idaho. 4. Bobby Lee Smith was born September 20,1925, at Vona, Colorado. On Feb. 14, 1950 he married Charlene Mary Hudson, daughter of Charlie and Mary Hudson. Their children are Cherie Bobbeth Smith born 19b1 and Calvin Neal Smith born 1953. 5. Goldie Laverne Smith was born April 1, 1940, at Boise, Ada County, Idaho. Goldie married Lawrence Eldon Gray on May 27, 1956, at Meridian, Idaho. Lawrence was born Jan.20,1936, at Boise, Idaho. Their children were Tammy Jo Gray born 1958 and Robin Michille Gray born 1960. by Linda L. Ljunggren Brandt SMITH, ASBURY F656 Asbury Smith was born in Ohio. Moving through Wisconsin and Illinois to settle northeast of Tobias, Atlanta Precinct, Saline County, Nebraska, in June 1884. Asburv Smith died Sept. 30, 1899, at the age of ?b years, 9 months, and 15 days and is buried at the Atlanta Cemetery, N.E. of Tobias, Nebraska. On the 1850 U.S. Census Asberrv Smith is living in Benton township, Hocking County, Ohio. Descendants say Asbury was a farmer and preacher. On his gravestone we find "Rev. A. Smith". Asbury Smith was converted at 18 years of age and was a member of the United Brethren church when he died. Asbury Smith's first wife was Rosanna Thompson (Rose Ann) who was born in Ohio. Their children were Nathaniel. William. Joseph, Mary, and Margaret. Asbury Smith's second wife was Hannah Jerussa Truesdale who was born Mav L834. in Pennsylvania. Their children were Salmon Peter Chase Smith, James Attaberry Smith, Albert M. Smith and maybe a daughter Aburn Smith. After Asbury's death Hannah lived with her son, Salmon Smith, moving to near Stratton, Colorado, with her son's familv between 1907 and 1910. Hannah J. (Trues- dale) Smith's parents were born in New Jersey according to the 188b Nebraska State Census. Hannah died January 2g, Lgt2, at Vona, Colorado, and is buried at Stratton. Kit Carson Co., Colorado. 1. Nathaniel H. Smith born about 1845 in Ohio is listed on the 1850 U.S. Census with Asberry Smith at the age of 5 years. I assume he died at an early age. 2. William R. P. Smith born Januarv 22. 1848, in Ohio. 3. Joseph A. Smith "Joe" born July 20, 1850, in Ohio. 4. Mary E. Smith "Molly" born about 1854 probably in Ohio. 5. Margaret Flora Smith "Flora" was born August 28, 1856, in Hocking county, Ohio. Margaret died April 10, 1926, at Friend, Nebraska, and is buried at Exeter. Saline County, Nebraska. Margaret married Samuel Trimmer October 9, 18g5, near Tobias, Saline County, Nebraska, by Rev. John Thornburg. Samuel was born about 1853 in Illinois and died about 1918. In 1885 Margaret was living with her brothers William and Joseph. In 1899 she was living at Seneca, Kansas, moving back to Western and Friend, Saline County, Nebraska. Her obituary lists her his son-in-law, the work gets done and there's still time for fishing. At the writing of this paper, Mom and Dad are headed for Alaska to fish for a couple of months. Catch a big one for me! Love you Mom and Dad! by Renee Loutzenhiser SMITH, ALBERT JOSEPH F656 Albert Joseph Smith, son of Salmon Peter Chase Smith and Laura Alice Cook, was born Oct.24, 1894, at Tobias, Nebraska. He came with his parents to Stratton, Colorado between 1907 and 1910. Only July L5, 1914, at Burlington, Colorado he married Gladys Delight Underwood, daughter of William and Mary Underwood. Gladys was born Oct. lb, 1896, at Norcater, Kansas. Gladys now lives at Medirian, Idaho. Albert died June 7, lgb6, and is buried at Meridian, Ada Co., Idaho. They had five children: 1. Laura Mary Smith was born May 14, 1915, in Stratton, Colorado. Laura first married George Richard Payne Jan. 1, 1932, Left to right: Samuel P.C. Smith, Ernest F. Smith, Laura A. (Cook) Smith, Eugene H. Smith, Albert J. Smith, Len Smith, Grace B. (Smith) Underwood, and Hannah J. (Truesdale) Smith. �children as Ira Trimmer of Friend, Nebraska; Enos Trimmer of Regina, Sask, Canada; and Mrs. Harvery Mather of Imperial, Nebraska. 6. James Attaberry Smith born March 10, 18?0, at Illinois and died July 31, 1941. James is buried at Luther, Oklahoma. On Nov. 22, 1892, James married Anna Kassebaum' daughter of William Kassebaum and Katie Crowl. Anna was born 1869 in Illinois and died 1935. Their children were Rev. William Asbury Smith, Mrs. Harold (Mildred M. Smith) Beleele, Charles A. Smith, Clarence A. Smith, Verne L. Smith, Glen Smith, Daisy Smith, Rollie Raymond Smith, and Mrs. Shadrick William (Lucy Lorene Smith) Vails. 7. Albert M. Smith born about L872 in Illinois. Albert married Anna Clark, daughter of William J. Clark, May 29, 1898, near Tobias, Saline County, Nebraska. They lived in DeWitt, Nebraska for a number of years. In 1926 Albert was living in California. In 1941 Albert was living at Lakeside, California. 8. Salmon Peter Chase Smith "Samuel" born Feb. 15, 1865, in Wisconsin. Salmon married Laura Alice Cook. 9. Aburn Smith is listed on the 1885 Saline County, Nebraska School Census as the daughter of Asbury Smith. She is six years of age. Next to Asbury Smith's gravestone is a small stone marked A.S. This may be Aburn's gravestone? by Linda L. Ljunggren fought in WW I in France and was wounded on Sept. 1, 1918. On Feb. 25, 1925, at Mankato, Jewell County, Kansas, Len married Viola Almeda Brown, daughter of Nelson Houston Brown and Clara Hannah Hoyt. Viola was born Nov. 13, 1902, in Clay Center, Clay Co., Nebraska, and is now living at Fullerton, Nebraska. After their marriage they lived a short time near Vona, Colorado where their first child was born. Moving back to Clay County, Nebraska where they lived for several years. Len was a farmer. They F657 Asbury Lindley Smith, son of Salmon Peter Chase Smith and Laura Alice Cook, was born August22,1896, near Tobias, Saline County, Nebraska. He was named after his two grandfathers. His nickname was Barry. He changed his nnme to Len Smith. Len Nebr. Their children were Tracy Ray Holmstedt, Gena Lee Holmstedt, and Edwin Lee Holmstedt. They live on a farm north of Genoa, Nebraska. 8. Orville Leroy Smith born April 23,L946, at Aurora, Hamilton Co., Nebraska. Orville was in the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam where he was wounded. Orville married Kathleen Kay Hopkins on July 5, 1969, at Grand Island, Nebr. Their children were Jimmy LaVern Smith and SherryAnn Smith. by Linda L. Ljunggren Brandt lived a few years in Hamilton County, Nebraska before moving to a farm north of Genoa, Nebraska. Upon retiring Len built a house for them in Fullerton, Nebraska. Len died April 4, 1978, at Fullerton and is buried at Fullerton cemetery. Their children are: SMITH, MR. AND MRS. E. R. F658 1. Bertha Mae Smith born January 25, 1926, at Vona, Colorado. Bertha graduated in 1944 from the Edgar H.S. in Clay County, Nebraska. Bertha married Lloyd Dean lJunggren, son of Rudolf Emil Ljunggren and Ida Marie Bieck, on January 15, L92L, at Mankoto, Kansas. Lloyd was born Jan. 15, L921, at rural Harvard, Hamilton Co., Nebraska. They live about 9 miles south of Aurora, Hamilton County, Nebraska. Their children are Louise Kay Ljunggren, Linda Lee Ljunggren, Rogene Mae Ljunggren, Roger Gene Ljunggren, Dale Lavern Ljunggren, Carol Ann Ljunggren, Connie U.S. Navy. He married first Ava May Woodward on Aug. 9, 1946, at Mankato, Kansas. Their children were Joann Marie Smith and Melvin Earl Smith, Jr. Melvin married second Mrs. Fern James on May 15, L97L, at Fremont, Nebraska. 3. Claire Lavern Smith born May 29,7929, at Fairfield, Nebr. Claire was in the U.S. Army. He married Sheryle Lee McCoig on June 19, 1955, at Fullerton, Nebraska. Sheryle was born Nov. 7, 1935, at Silver Creek, Nebraska. They had one child Wayne Lavern Smith. They live at Fullerton, Nebraska. 4. Shirley Louise Smith born October 31, 1931, at Fairfield, Nebraska. She married Donald Iven Ljunggren, son of Rudolf Emil Ljunggren and Ida Marie Bieck, on May 20, L947, at Mankato, Kansas. Donald was born June 23, \924, at rural Harvard, Hamilton Co., Nebraska. Their children are Gary LeRoy Ljunggren, Danny Rae Ljunggren, Alan Dale Ljunggren, Gale Lynn Ljunggren, Shirlette Yvonne Ljunggren, and Sherrie Christeen Ljunggren. They live at Dell Smith joined the Asbury Lindley Smith - Len He was wounded in U.S. Army during W.W.I. France in 1918. 1958, at Central Oity, Merrick Uo., Nebraska. William was born Nov. 17, 1930, at Fullerton, Jean Ljunggren, Larry Dean Ljunggren, and Joyce Ann Ljunggren. 2. Melvin Earl Smith born Feb. 15, L927, at Fairfield, Clay Co., Nebr. Melvin was in the SMITH, ASBURY LINDLEY Smith came to live near Stratton, Colorado between 1907 and 1910 with his parents. His mother died when he was 17 years ofage. Len Smith joined the U.S. Army in 1917. He Rapids, South Dakota. 5. Irvin Lee Smith born January 14, 1933, at Fairfield, Clay County, Nebraska. Irvin was in the U.S. Air Force. 6. Ivan Dean Smith born Sept. 25,L934, at Clay Center, Clay County, Nebraska. Ivan was in the U.S. Army. Ivan married Norma Arlene Sharman on August 31, 1957, at North Star, Nebraska. Their children are Lonnie Len Smith, Lynette Jo Smith, Rhonda Rae Smith, and Wanda Kay Smith. 7. Norene Marie Smith born Sept. 4, 1936, at CIay Center, Nebraska. She married William Alexander Holmstedt on Feb. 19, E. Rowland and Myrtle D. Smith on their Golden Wedding Day, Nov. 12, 1952. E. Rowland Smith & Myrtle J. Schlegel were married 12 Nov. 1902 in Omaha, NE. They immediately took the train to the Sand Hills of Cherry Co, NE where he was to settle the estate of his brother Clarence. Later they returned to Omaha where he was a contractor and home builder. Here 4 children were born to them: Theodore, Harold, Esther and Ida. Esther passed away in Nov. 1909 from whooping cough and pneumonia. In May 1910 they went back to a cattle & horse ranch in the Sand Hills 12 miles northeast of Whitman where they built and lived in a sod house for 10 years. Here Glenn, the last child was born. There were no schools or churches for many miles so with a growing family it was necessary to have a school. In the meantime Sunday School was held in their home to which some neighbors occasionally came. My father was instrumental in getting a sod school house built about a mile from our house and we kids walked to school in all kinds of weather, always watching out for rattlesnakes. My brother Harold had a great imagination and kept us entertained with his stories as we walked. Mv father also succee- �ded in persuading business people to help in getting school books and desks, also coal for the heater in the middle of the room. The teachers boarded at our house and walked to school as we did. My mother was a gentle, soft spoken lady but was brave and a hard worker. She was born and raised in the city so country living was entirely new to her. Her blind father lived with us most of the time. He always turned the old wooden wash machine and churned the butter to help Mamma. She had to cook and wash for all of us besides the teacher and one or more hired men, so was a busy person. We didn't have corncobs so we burned cow chips which Grandpa picked up, tied by a long rope with one end fastened to him and the other to a yard fence post, pulling an old wash tub along to hold the chips. Grandpa Smith stayed with us part of the time. He was crippled from having tangled with an angry cow in his younger days. We lived about 12 miles east of a group of lakes where my father put up hay every summer. He had a complete haying outfit and raised lots of horses so with a haying crew he made a good living during summers. We had many meals of delicious roast wild duck shot around these lakes. We also caught frogs in the creek near the house and enjoyed the fried frog legs. Mamma's mother came to visit us one summer and while there suffered a stroke. Her right side was paralized and she couldn't talk. She remained in this condition the rest of her life. During 1919 my father sold his land and cattle and moved the family to Colorado for Less Collins had built around 1918. and lived there until my father passed away in July 1961 and Mamma in May 1962. He lost his eyesight in Nov. 1953. They had no electricity or water in the house until they moved to town. My parents were always devoted Christians and took great pleasure in starting Sunday Schools in various school houses, also supporting the preachers who came from town to preach on occasions. After moving to town they faithfully attended the E.U.B. Church which is now the United Methodist Church. My father taught Sunday School class many years, even after he was blind, sang in the choir, was Lay Leader and Annual Conference Delegate several times. Mamma was a worker in Missionary Society and Ladies Aid, holding offices in both. She was also Financial Secretary for the Church several years. My brother Theodore passed away in 1975 leaving his wife Laura, five children, nine grandchildren and two great grandsons. Glenn and wife, Lylas live in South Dakota and Texas, have 2 children, 7 grandchildren and one great grandson. I married Edmund Boecker and we have one son Dale and wife Vicky. He is in the Air Force, stationed now in Abilene, Texas. We still live in Stratton. by Ida Boecker SMITH, J. OSCAR high school facilities. We had 2 covered wagons, the old Buick car, and 100 head of horses in our cavalcade. My brother, Theodore, a cousin, and the last school teacher F659 drove the horses, and my father would drive ahead every day in the car to find a place to Grandma and my brother Harold. During Ellen Smith, from Yale, Oklahoma. Proving up on a homestead about 15 miles north of Bovina occupied the Smith family through the years with education for the four children a major goal despite sacrifices entailed. Very active in 4-H, Oscar received many honors and several trips to state fair and Chicago's International culminating in receiving a Union Pacific Railroad scholarship, making college realistic. When he chose Colorado A. and M. after graduation from Arriba High in 1926, he fully intended to become a "county agent". Dorothy, born near Union, Nebraska, at the historic family home of her father's parents 6 miles from the Missouri's banks, moved at age 7 with her parents, Carl and Blanche Cross, to a large farm 13 miles north ofArriba where she attended country schools, completing high school at Arriba in 1929. Determined to use a joint honor scholarship received at graduation to study home economics because it seemed those offering would always be useful, she enrolled at Colorado A and M, too. Destiny permitted only one year in college together. Awareness of one another stemmed from local church activities and led to a five year courtship, culminating in marriage in October, 1932, just as the country was entering the FDR era. Oscar was teaching a country school in northern Lincoln County, picking up pupils on the way at the magnificent salary of $125 per month. Oscar's teaching, living on a farm, gathering a herd of cattle, some hogs, much poultry and gardening, plus being very involved in community life made for a busy lifestyle. Under the aegis of Dr. John Unger, Oscar, with 1500 acres under his farming direction, four children, and a full time teaching job, was regarded as more essential at home. In July, 1944, at a time when farming was a dubiously fragile endeavor due to rust and hail, men teachers were almost non-existent and family needs were escalating rapidly, Oscar and Dorothy were asked to assume positions in Arribas school system. Looming was the prospect of years of high school at a distance of 20 plus miles. For the next six years, mathematics and shop and the The next years were busy with some farming, raising cattle, and accumulating more land. We lived through the dust storms and the Depression when some of the cattle sold for $12 a head. All 3 ofus graduated from High School at First Central and went to college. They bought a house in Stratton which In 1910 at age one Oscar ca-e to Colorado with his parents, Robert Bevly and Minnie experiences with sickness and school days. Suddenly the United States was plunged into war and rationing of every type! Each night the kitchen became a tire shop to keep Oscar on the road to school. Men began to leave to serve the various armed forces: but, these years, my father would butcher cattle and sell the beef to Dack's Meat Market in Stratton for 9 cents a pound and take out half of it in groceries. largest real estate transaction consumated in recent years was completed when E.R. Smith sold his entire holdings comprising 6,880 A. of deeded land and 3000 A. of leased land to a syndicate of eastern investors." time. superintendent of Hugo Public Schools, Oscar's teaching skills were honed. The four blessed children arrived in 1933, '36, '38 and '40, respectively, adding the usual family spend the night where there was feed and corrals to accommodate the horses. It took 24 days for the trip, approximately 270 miles, including a 10 day stop-over near Wray, CO, during and after ablizzard.. He bought a half section of land 18 miles south of Stratton on the county line and built a sod house there which we moved into in March 1922. Both Grandpas came to Colorado to live with us and both passed away in the 20's, as did During the late 30's my father went into the sheep business so needed lots ofpasture land. He bought many acres and leased other land and ran a herd of 1000 sheep. During World War I[ it became too hard to find men to work on the ranch so he sold sheep, cattle, and land and moved to Stratton in 1944. According to The Burlington Record of Jan. 6, 1944: "The school, and the younger boys in upper elementary, making that decision established the family in the Stratton community to this Dorothy and J. Oscar Smith, 1973. John Oscar and Dorothy Smith and four children, Gordon Cross, Margaret Jean, John Robert, and Richard Carl, came to Kit Carson County from Arriba in Lincoln County in June, 1950, because Stratton Public School, then involved in consolidation processes, insisted that Oscar and Dorothy establish two new school programs: shop and home economics. Emotional because Gordon was a senior at Arriba High, Jean entering high English programs were the couple's "jobs". This choice led to a lifetime of championing the interests of young people and promoting their educations. Then came the Stratton move! With cooperation and help from the four children, Oscar and Dorothy met the demands of organizing and teaching in their respective departments and kept up with the children's activities. In addition to shop, Oscar taught math and Dorothy handled an added subject, usually advanced English or Spanish. During the ensuing years Oscar became principal and later superintendent of Stratton Public �Schools, a position he held for 17 years. Under his direction the initial portion of the current high school facility was conceived and built. He was highly instrumental in establishing the BOCES cooperative throughout the area schools. Because his master's studies were in guidance and counseling as well as school administration, he became alert to the educational needs of those having developmental disabilities. His caring and insistence brought about establishment of the East Central Colorado Regional Board for Developmental Disabilities, lnc. and the organization of the school in Burlington which serves a four county area. He was also an original officer of the mental health organization and the Centennial Mental Health Center. When the high school was designed, the help of home economics professionals was used in designing that department which became a model within small schools of Colorado. Dorothy rose to meet the challenge of having this facility and was successful in motivating her students in ways that led them to many honors and outstanding accomplishments. Stratton Chapter of Future Homemakers of America had four state officers during those years. She sponsored the classes of'54,'58,'62 and'71, and now enjoys homecoming reunions greatly. Supervising home economics student teacher sent by CSU. Fort Collins, and UNC, Greeley, became annual experiences. In addition to her classroom duties, Dorothy was school librarian many years. With assistance from able student volunteers, she organized the original elementary school library. These varied activities for both Oscar and Dorothy led to a constant process of continuing education. Summer school was an almost every year occurrence for one or both. Usually the choice was CSU in Fort Collins, but on occasion it was University of Denver for drivers education under auspices of AAA for Oscar and library science for Dorothy, or University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, for some other concentration. Seeing both parents receive simultaneous masters degrees in August, 1959. ceremonies at CSU remains a family highlight. Each Smith young person chose college. Gordon graduated in 1955 from CSU with a general science background and later re- ceived his masters from the University of West Virginia, Morgantown. A viral disease biologist with the U.S. Department of Public Health with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, and Fort Collins, he and wife Elly live in Loveland. They have two grown sons. Jean completed her home economics education at CSU after her marriage to Max Mason. They have three sons and three daughters. Jean is a home economics teacher at Hi-Plains High, Seibert, and Max was a custom farmer. Max's death in 1981 brought much sadness following his long bout with cancer. Robert chose Colorado School of Mines, Golden with petroleum engineering as his emphases, joining Shell Oil Company upon graduation in 1960. Now in upper echelons of drilling management, he and wife Judy, daughter of Tom and Gladys Conarty, Stratton, live in Spring, Texas, a Houston suburb. They have a son and two daughters. Richard also chose Colorado School of Mines and petroleum engineering. Following her graduation from St. Lukes School of Nursing, in Denver, Richard and Margene, daughter of Marge and Ugene Brown, Stratton, married; they have four daughters and a son. Currently, they live in Hobbs, N.M. where Richard SMITH, L. D. (BUNT) F661 manages drilling operations for Chevron Oil Company. When they retired from guiding young people, Oscar in 1974 and Dorothy in 1975, the Smiths had accumulated 73 years in careers they sincerely loved, with most of those years spent in Kit Carson County. Retirement gave Oscar opportunity to become a farmer once again, to play more golf, become more active in Masonic Lodge, to carpenter by remodeling the Stratton home and the Lincoln County farmhouse, to travel, to attend church, mental health and East Central school meetings, and to garden, one of his favorite hobbies. The sixteen grandchildren have had to rise to the challenges of having parents whose professions demanded their cooperation and involved frequent moves about the USA and in Richard's instance to Kuwait on the Persian Gulf and Singapore. Attending baptisms, birthday celebrations, high school and college graduations, weddings, and holiday celebrations as well as greeting the arrival of great-grandchildren have made a family network that all enjoy and treasure. The October, 1982, golden wedding observance for Oscar and Dorothy found the total family hosting the affair at home base in Stratton. Involvement in Stratton civic and United Methodist Church activities, being a committee member of Kit Carson County Carousel Association since the 1975 restoration beginnings, directing with others the relocation and restoration of Stratton Public Library are a few ofthe activities Dorothy has chosen to engage her energies since Oscar's sudden death April 4, 1983. As co-chairman, she found evolvement of this book, the Kit Carson County Centennial History, the 198588 focus of many, many hours on countless days. by Dorothy C. Smith SMITII, JOSEPH A.F660 Joseph A. Smith "Joe", son of Asbury Smith and Rose Ann Thompson, was born July 20, 1850, in Ohio. On the 1850 U.S. Census Joseph was one month old and was living with his parents in Benton twp., Hocking county, Ohio. In 1885 Joseph was living with his brother, William R.P. Smith and sister, Margaret F. Smith, in Saline county, Nebraska, and in 1899 Joseph was Iiving at Claremont, Colorado. About 1910 Joseph married Mary Murray. Mary was born about 1870 in Illinois. On the 1910 U.S. Census Joseph and Mary are living in Kit Carson County, and Joseph is a Post Master. Joseph lived his last eight years in Chicago, Illinois. Joseph died March 31, 1926, in Chicago, Illinois, and is buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetery. by Linda Lee Ljunggren Brandt L.D. (Bunt) Smith, taken at his home north east of Vona in the late '60's. L.D. (Bunt) Smith was born in Hutton Valley, Missouri in 1887. He was five years old when his father married for a second time and the kids were placed in other homes. He went to live with a cousin's family and lived with the Marion Hines family until he came to Colorado with N.O. Gulley and Oscar Paine in 1909. His homestead was in the sandhills north of Stratton and he lived there into the 1970's. Oscar Paine and his mother, Mary, were Bunt's closest neighbors and friends. Bunt always said that Mary Paine was the only mother he ever had. Bunt loved to tell stories and one of his favorites was about Oscar Paine. One evening Bunt was visiting at the Paine home and he and Oscar were sitting by the stove discussing a fight that Oscar was having with a neighbor over their land that was to be resurveyed. The neighbor had threatened to shoot Oscar. Oscar's mother had set a bucket of honey that had sugared on the stove to dissolve. She had left the lid on and it got too hot, so the lid blew off with a bang. Oscar was sure that he had been shot and jumped back, upset his chair and fell to the floor. Bunt loved to tease him and never let him forget it. After a few years in Colorado, Bunt married a widow lady, Ada Glen. They enlarged Bunt's little house by adding a little room on the south. With it's south windows, it made a nice living and dining room. Ada kept the little house very neat and clean with white curtains and tablecloth. In this very tiny bedroom, I remember a huge feather bed, with a white bedspread, that filled up most of the room. Ada always wore a white apron covered with embroidery. They milked a large herd of cows and the yard was covered with poultry: chicken, ducks, geese and turkeys. Bunt had seldom gone out in crowds �Delore, but Ada loved to dance and Bunt found himself going to dances and other Co., Nebr. Their children were Mrs. Samuel Alexander (Cora Madge Cook) Lofquist, events. I first remember Bunt and Ada together at a Christmas dinner at my Grandma Paine's house. He ceme ahead of Ada saying that she had sent him over to help with dinner until she got there. In 1939, Ada passed away of a heart attack and after three years Buntwas married again. Bunt's second wife, Bettie Taylor, was born in Holden, Missouri in 1895 and received her education in Missouri. She taught school for four years at Kirk and also for four years at the Kechter school and also taught at the Boger School. Bettie was an outdoor person who loved horses, ice skating and swimming. She also enjoyed collecting dolls and making clothes for them and the dolls of the little girls she knew. Although they had no children of their own, Bettie and Bunt enjoyed kids and liked having them visit. Bettie liked to show them how to do things like crocheting and playing music. One of the outbuildings contained many books, games, and musical Havila Vide Cook, Mrs. Salmon Peter Chase (Laura Alice cook) Smith, Mrs. Robert Davidson (Minnie Bell) Renie. and Jesse Willis Cook. by Linda L. Ljunggren Brandt SMITH, M.T. FAMILY F663 "1.."::..r rtndf ._ .* toys. Bettie and Bunt worked hard all of their lives and were always ready to help anyone that needed it. They lived a simple life on the farm without electricity or an indoor bathroom and Bettie cooked delicious meals on her wood-burning cook stove. Bunt continued to do much of his work with his team of Buckskins, Judy and Star. In later years, we kept his horses during the winters and enjoyed watching him come with his team and wagon with the others, Silver and Flicka following behind. In 1959, they bought a home in Yuma and spent their winters there, but Bunt was always eager to get back to the farm in the spring. Over the years we shared many holidays and visits with them and always enjoyed their friendship. Bettie passed away in May of L974 and Bunt in September of the same year. by Opal Boger SMITH, LAURA ALICE COOK F662 Laura Alice Cook, daughter of Lindley N. Cook and Mary James, was born Feb. 8, 18?6, in Missouri. Laura married Salomon Peter Chase Smith in 1893, in Saline County, Nebraska. They came to live near Stratton, Colorado, between 190? and 1910. Lauta died on June 2,tgL}, at the age of37 and is buried at Stratton, Colorado. Laura's grandfather, Daniel Janres, was born 1806 in North Carolina. Daniel married Eve Fifer on March L5, L832, in Jennings County, Indiana. At the time of their marriage they were both living in Geneva Twp. About 1850 they moved to Folker Twp., Clark Co., Missouri. Daniel died in 1862 and Eve in L872, and. they are both buried at Bethleham Baptist Church Cemetery, rural Luray, Mo. Their children were Samuel James, Mrs. William Lewis (Maranda M. James) Spencer, Amos James, Allen James. Solomon James, John James, Mrs. Lindley N. (Mary James) Cook, Willis James, and Mrs. Franklin S. (Eliza Jane James) Cook. The Cook ancestors were Quakers, starting \ Laura Alice (Cook) Smith. with Peter Cook and Elinor Norman who came to the U.S. in 1713 from England. Peter Cook died enroute to the U.S. and his familv settled in Pennsylvania. Isaac Cook, son of Peter Cook and Elinor Norman, was born L702 in England. Isaac married Mary Houghton, daughter of John Houghton and Ann Gregg. Isaac moved his family to Craven County, S.C. Eli Cook, son of Isaac Cook and Elinor Norman, was born L74l in Pennsylvania. Eli married Martha Hawkins, daughter of James Hawkins and Martha Hollowell. t772 in S.C. Eli moved his family to Preble County, Ohio where he died. Eli Cook, son of Eli Cook and Martha Hawkins, was born L794 in S.C. Eli married Elizabeth Denney, daughter of Lazarus and Susanna Denney, in 1881, in Ohio. In 1836, Eli moved his family to Salem Twp., Henry County, Iowa, where Eli and Elizabeth both died in 1874. Joel Cook, son of Eli Cook and Elizabeth Denney, was born L822 in Preble County, Ohio. Joel married Charlotte Thornburg, daughter of Jacob Thornburg and Rachel Hammer, t842, in Henry County, Iowa. In 1864, Joel Cook moved to Folker Twp., Clark County, Missouri, where Joel died in 1878, and is buried at the Bethlehem Baptist Church cemetery, near Luray, Mo. Charlotte died 1908 in Lee Co., Iowa, and is buried at Keokuk, Iowa. Their children were Mrs. Hugh (Martha C. Cook) McClellan, Lindley N. Cook, Mary Jane Cook, Franklin S. Cook, Mrs. John Perry (Aldora Cook) Clifford, and Mrs. George (Adda Cook) Banghart. Lindley N. Cook, son of Jel Cook and Charlotte Thornburg, was born 1845 in Salem, Henry Co., Iowa. In 1870, Lindley married Mary James. Mary was born Jan. 31, 1849, in Indiana. They moved to Kansas sometime before 1882. Mary died in 188? at Fort Scott, Bourbon County, Kansas. After Mary's death, Lindley moved the family to Western, Saline Co., Nebr. in the Fall of 1892. In 1895, Lindley moved to Spring Ranch Twp., Clay County, Nebraska, where he died in 1924. Lindley is buried at Fairfield, Clay Moses Thomas Smith came to Colorado from Wyoming, Iowa to homestead. He "proved up" on his homestead and then wrote for other members of his family to come as they became of age. His wife EIla Collins Smith had remained in Iowa with the children who were still in school and came later after they had graduated from high school. His daughters, Maye and Elva came first, taking homesteads. Later, Amy, Myron, and Ed came, also "proving up" on homesteads. One daughter, Dora remained in Iowa and married there. Elva's homestead wasn't far from her father's. She carried her water from his place and also from Walter Clarks, a close neighbor. She also carried the mail by horseback and sometimes with horse and buggy from one small post office to another. I remember her telling that one morning she had been to get water and then went to carry the mail. When she returned, her water pail was empty. Later she heard that some Indians had been seen going through the country and they evidently had stopped at her little house and helped themselves to her provisions. Elva also taught school in Kit Carson County. At that time qualifications for teaching weren't very high as at one time there were only three teachers in the Burlington community with high school educations. They were Nellie Grabb, Nellie Miser, and Elva Smith. The other teachers had not graduated from high school. Elva went beyond high school having attended a Teach- ers' Normal Institute in Davenport, Iowa. She also attended Teachers' College in Greeley, CO. when the campus consisted of one building. One of the schools Elva taught was the Bauder School northwest of Burlington and boarded at the Spring Valley Ranch with the Henry Goebel family. Another school she taught was the Cook School. She also taught in District 38 before the school was named "Happy Hollow". (The name Happy Hollow was started by a teacher named Edna Swanson). Elva married Ed Bartman in 1913, who also had a homestead a short distance away. The story of their live has been submitted by their oldest daughter, Louise Wagner. Maye Smith was a seamstress and did sewing for other homesteaders. She married H.B. Morgan, who was a carpenter and later became a rural mail carrier on a route south of Burlington for a good many years. He was the first mail carrier out of Burlington. Amy Smith married Ellis Clark who had a homestead near by. Together they started the country store and post office at Morris which was located about 16 miles north of BurIington, one east and two back north. Myron Smith homesteaded about 11 miles north of Burlington. Myron answered the call to serve his country in the army during World �War I. He was stationed in France. When he heard that he had a new niece born into the Bartman family, he wrote requesting the baby be named Jeanette after a girl he had met over there. That baby was already named Edna by the time his letter arrived. He later married Ruth Bowman of Goodland, KS. They had two children - a son, Kenneth, and finally a baby daughter who they named Jeanette - now Jeanette Smith Stahlecker. Ed O.K. Smith homesteaded about 15 miles north of Burlington. He married Grace Smith a school teacher. They later moved to Burlington where he carried mail on route 3 northwest of Burlington. His slogan was "the mail must got through." Sometimes when stuck in impassible roads, he'd take the mail sack and walk to the next farm to deliver the mail. The mother, Mrs. Smith passed away at the homestead in t922. Here is a little ditty I can remember Grandpa Smith singing about homestead days. (I thing the tune was "Irish Washer Woman") How happy I feel when I crawl into bed, The rattlesnakes rattle all over my head. The dear little centipede, point of all fear, Crawls over my pillow and into my ear. Hurrah for Kit Carson (county), the home of the free The home- of the coyote, the bed bug, and flea. moved to Colorado with them. Samuel was a farmer. Samuel died Dec. 16, 1928, in Colorado and is buried at Stratton, Colorado. Samuel and Laura had six children: 1. Albert Joseph Smith born Oct.24, t894, at Tobias, Nebraska. 2. Asbury Lindley Smith (changed his name to Len Smith) born Aug. 22, L896, at Tobias, Saline Co., Nebraska. 3. Grace Bell Smith born May 28, 1898, at Tobias. Nebraska. 4. Ernest Theodore Smith born Dec. 18, 1900, at Tobias, Nebraska. Ernest married Mrs. Opal (Endicott) Hailey, daughter of Andy Endicott, on April 29, 1953. Ernest died Nov. 2, 1964, and is buried at Meridian, Ada co., Idaho. They had no children. 5. Un-named baby daughter born July 1, 1905, at Glenville, Clay County, Nebraska. 6. Eugene Harris Smith born March 1, 1907, at Glenville, Clay County, Nebraska. Eugene married Nettie Carpinter onDec.24, 1942, at Vancover, Washington. Nettie was born Oct. 11, 1910, at Gooding, Idaho. No children. Eugene now lives at Ontario, Oregon. by Linda L. Ljunggren SMITH, WILLIAM R. P. F665 We'll sing of its praises, we'll sing of its fame As we work together on our "Government claim." by Edna Bartman Stahlecker SMITH, SALMON PETER CHASE F664 William R.P. Smith, son of Asbury Smith and Rose Ann Thompson, was born January 27, 1848, in Ohio. On the 1850 U.S. Census William is 2 years old living in Benton twp., Hocking County, Ohio with his parents. In 1885 William is listed on the Nebraska State Census in Saline County, Nebraska. At the time of his father's death, Sept. 1899, William was living at Claremont, Colorado. William never married. He was a farmer. William died November 7. 1909 and is buried at Claremont cemetery, Stratton, Colorado. by Linda Lee Ljunggren Brandt SNYDER, LYLE AND PEARL F666 The Oasis Cafe and Service Station in Vona. Photo courtesy of Myrtle Anderson. The two men are Tom Burian and Maynard Edmunds. I, Pearl Marie (Hoffner) Snyder, was born in Pratt, Kansas, and my husband, John Lyle Snyder, was also born in Pratt. I graduated from Pratt high school in t924, and Lyle graduated from the same high school in the class of 1928. We were married in Pratt at the First Baptist Church, on the 12th day of November, 1934. The Reverend B.E. Mills performed the ceremony. From here, we moved to Kirk, Colorado and Iived on a farm until around 1955, when we moved into Vona. Here we took over the Oasis Cafe. The Oasis Cafe sat by the side of the road at Vona, and was a place for friends to meet and visit and make friends. It was a stopping place for people that got stuck in snow storms and floods. On one occasion we had a very bad snow storm, and had 17 trucks stranded all night, each truck had 2 men,34 men in all, and some people in cars. We called our help in, but they couldn't get there even by tractor. One of our help came in though she had to walk, that was Wanda Miller. We had several snow storms that stopped the traffic. The Oasis stayed open when needed to be. I recall one evening, when it rained so long and hard the road was closed west of Vona. Cars could not get through. One car washed over in a ditch. The cafe was crowded with people going to ball games. About 9:00 P.M. the roads were opened to go south of Vona, to another road going east and west. We had a lot of enjoyment by having banquets and special dinners for the school and community. We had several times when people would come in hungry and have no money to pay, but they got food and were thankful for it. One time, a man came in hungry, but had no money. He was a stranger going to Flagler to get work, so we gave him his meal, and a farmer came in and understood his condition. and said he would take him to Flagler and give him a job. The stranger took the job and worked all summer for the farmer. The farmer was Frances McCaffery. Frances S"muel P.C. Smith had been rabbit hunting. Salmon Peter Chase Smith, son of Asbury Smith and Hannah Jerussa Truesdale, was born Feb. 15, 1865, in Wisconsin. (Nickname would work late and on his way home would stop and eat at the Oasis. He would help several men get on their way by giving them Samuel). Moving through Illinois Samuel came to Atlanta precinct, N.E. of Tobias, Saline County, Nebraska, in June 1884 with money and paying for their lodging in Stratton. his parents. Near Tobias, Nebraska, on June 18, 1893, Samuel married Laura Alice Cook. daughter of Lindsey N. Cook and Mary James. In 1905 and 1907 Samuel was living near Glenville, Clay County, Nebraska. On the 1910 U.S. census Samuel was living in Precinct Six, Stratton, Kit Carson County, Colorado. After the death of Samuel's father his mother lived with Samuel's family and Pearl and Lyle Snyder's 52nd Wedding Anniversa- ry, Nov. 12, 1986 at Grace Manor Care Center. One very cold night four dark men came in hungry and cold. The cafe was full but they came in and asked if they could eat and move the table over to the furnace so their feet would get warm. We tried to accommodate all our customers by making them as comfortable as possible regardless of whether they were local or from a visiting town or their �creed or color. Another time a young man came in without a coat and his shoes weren't very good, there was a window broke out ofhis car, and he was cold. He was going to Kansas after his wife. He had no money and only wanted coffee. Maynard Edmunds gave him some money to eat with and we wrapped his feet in an old plastic table cloth and gave him a sweater. Harvest was always a very busy time and it usually lasted 2 to 3 weeks. Joe Doughty, the manager ofthe grain elevator entertained 29 Elevator mErnagers to a T-bone steak dinner once. We had several bus loads of school students from other states, who would call ahead and make reservations for hamburgers and ice cream. The train crews always tried to make their dinner stop at the Oasis if possible. We made doughnuts and long Johns, for which truck drivers would give us orders a week in advance for a dozen to take home. We had customers from neighboring towns come to order our doughnuts and Long Johns. Then, coffee was 100, pie 15 0, we served 2 piece chicken lunch for $1.00, 4 pieces for $2.00, and a childs plate for 250, and hamburgers for 250. That was back in the good old days. Our waitress' did their part in making the business a success by giving good service, and their friendliness made customers welcome. The sign on our door read "Through Our Doors, Walk The Finest People on Earth, Our Customers". Lyle ran the Oasis Service Station and also drove a school bus for years. We celebrated our 52nd wedding anniversary at the Grace Manor Care Center in Burlington, on November 12, 1986, where Lyle is staying. I still reside in our home in Vona, Colorado. often for sing fests. The Doblers came to America in 1885. They had 16 children. Eight of their children died in infancy and the other eight survived to come to America. Grandpa was a carpenter by trade and built mostly wagons. They also farmed in Russia. In Russia they lived in villages. Their farm ground was further away and referred to as "on the stepp." They had to bring their machinery home every evening or it would be stolen by the Russians. They probablyonly had a plow and a harrow. There were no pastures close by so the villagers hired a herder for each type of livestock. Mother told us they would start out for the pasture and they would call out that the sheep herder or goose herder was leaving. The other villagers would turn out their stock and the herders would take them out to pasture for the day. Again in the evening as the herders would arrive back at the village with their herds, they would call out that they were back. The other villagers would take their own stock and lock it up for the night. If they did not lock everything up it would all be stolen through the night. The villagers hired Russian women to hoe their fields and gardens. When these women came to work they had their hoes over their shoulders and would come singing all the way. Grandma would cook a big pot of borsht or vegetable soup for them to eat. She would take the pot out in the yard and set it on the ground, give each woman a spoon and they would sit around the kettle and eat out of the pot. Mother was 11 years old when they ceme to America. She was the second youngest of the surviving 8 children. They were on the ship 14 days with several other families. Her mother was sick all the way and also most of the children. It must have been a chore to care for them all. by Janice Salmans When they came to America they could not speak English. They were hungry, very homesick and cried a lot. Their father was out STAHLECKER DOBLER FAMILY F667 of money. Another German farmer came along and gave them bread, cheese and sausage. He helped them to a hotel and helped them to the train. They moved to Scotland, So. Dakota. They moved into a small house. Everyone had to work except the Our forefathers immigrated from Germany to Russia in the late 1700's or the early 1800's. The Stahlecker grandparents came in 1873 when their oldest son was only 2 or 3 years old. They had 11 children. Great Grandma accompanied them. Great Grandpa had passed away already. Great Grandma lived to be 92 years old. She was blind, crippled, and bed fast. When she needed more care than Grandma would give her, they came to live with our family. We had more girls to help with her care. Great Grandma passed away at our house. After she died, Grandma went back to her own house again. Our father was born in Columbus, Nebraska in 1876. He was the fourth oldest child in their family. They moved to Scotland, So. Dakota. Most of the children were born in Trip, So. Dakota. They moved to Bethune, Colorado in 1893 and boughtthe farm 3/ mile north of the Lutheran Church from A.W. Adolfs father. There were two houses on the farm they bought. When other new settlers came to Colorado, they would move in the little house until they had their own homes established. This little house was occupied most of the time. Our Grandpa loved to sing and people would meet at their house quite youngest son. Grandpa and Mother worked 3 or 4 miles from the house and had to walk. One of Mother's chores was to twist straw in tight bundles to fire the Russian oven built of adobe. This oven was used to cook. bake and heat the house. It was fired up once a day and stayed warm through the day. Mother would get very homesick and would go to the straw stack, twist straw, cry for home and fteeze. She got Sunday off after chores until evening chores. She would run home and back so she could be home longer. Then she started working for another family who had 3 children. She did housework and babysat. She was confirmed there. Her mother passed away in 1889. She was sickly but it was mostly from being homesick for her family who were scattered all over and homesick for Russia. In 1890, they came to Colorado on the train to St. Francis, Kansas. From there they loaded everything in the wagon and came to the "settlement" north of Bethune, Co. Grandpa Dobler homesteaded the 7+ of land where Hope United Church is now. They built a dugout that had a dirt floor, very small windows and little else in it. Mother planted geraniums and said they bloomed nicer here than anvwhere else. They wanted to worship. so they gathered in Grandpa's house and he would read the sermon for the services there. Once in awhile, a minister would come and hold services for them. He would do the baptizing, marriages and any other services he could for them. In 1892 they built the rock church. Each member had a certain amount of rock to haul for the building of it for a donation. They got their own minister and named it Immanuel Lutheran Church. Here in America they had to work. Several of the men worked for some of the large ranches along the Republican River. Some of the girls went to Denver to work for the rich Jewish families. Mother worked for an elderly couple. To keep her busy she had to beat eggs for an hour with the fork (the only egg beater they had then). She used these well beaten eggs for cakes or noodles and other dishes also. Thursday afternoon was their time off. Some of the German girls would go shopping, mostly window shopping together. They enjoyed one certain streetcar. It went up a hill, a while mule was hitched to the streetcar to pull it up the hill. At the top of the hill, the mule was unhitched and put on the back of the streetcar to coast down the hill. At the bottom of the hill the mule was hitched up and the process repeated again. My folks were married on September 11, 1898. They had 11 children. They started their married life in Grandpa's little house. Dad was sick before their wedding day. That morning they had a blizzard. The minister came to the house and performed the marriage there. Dad's illness was typhoid fever. They were quarantined for 6 weeks. What a honeymoon! Dad worked for different places. He tried to farm. He quit this and started to work for the railroad. They lived in Burlington at this time. Here one sister, age 2Yz years old died of diphtheria. Dad also had this illness but he recovered. Mary was born here. Next they moved to the "Norman Meyer place." This is % mile south and 1 mile west of Immanual Lutheran Church. While they lived here, 5 of us children were born. I barely remember the sod house we lived in. The house, the buggy shed and the barn were all under one roof. It had a sod roof. When it rained the roof would leak. Pots and pans were all put out to catch the water. Mother would sprinkle the floor with water before she would sweep to help settle the dust. Saturday was the day to "mop" the floor. We kids had to go to the pasture and get the yellow lime dirt from the prairie dog holes. We would pick some grass bushes, tie them tightly together and use them to brush the lime mixed with water over the floor. When it dried, it would help seal the floor and lighten the house. I was 4 or 5 years old when they built a "modern" house. It was made of adobe. had no clothes closets, a shingle roofand a wooden floor. The kitchen was papered with an oil cloth so it could be washed off. The bedrooms were white washed with lime. Lime was bought in chunks. Mother would put a few chunks in a tub and pour water over it. It would boil up like lye. When it was dissolved, she put it in an airtight container. It would keep for a long time this way. If it got hard it could not be used again. They could get blueing, the lime would not eat it up, and use it to tint the lime. This was used to paint the walls and ceiling. Then the blueing was mixed with water and applied with a corn cob in what ever width vou wanted for the borders. �The cob was rolled in the blueing and then lightly on the wall below the ceiling. It made a nice design border. Mary loved to do this so much that at times she had borders around the doors, windows, and above the moP boards too. The lime was also used to kill mites in the chicken house and the milk house. We girls had to help with farming because we only had one older brother and us 5 girls until the next brother was born' We walked to school in the spring and the fall when Dad needed the horses for farming. In the winter we had one horse hitched to a buggy and could ride to school. There was a barn at the school and all the horses were unhitched and stayed in the barn until it was time to go home. We had to go 2Vz miles to school then. Later we moved 4 miles north of Bethune and had to go SVz miles to school by walking, riding in the buggy. When I was in ?th grade we moved to Mosca, Colorado. A bus took us to school in town. It was a four room school with more children in one room than we had in the whole school in the country' It was an 8 grade school. It was a big adjustment for me to make. The first school here had five or six big boys in it besides all the other children. But the teachers were strict and made them behave even if it meant punishment. Our parents would back up the teachers on the discipline. If we got a spanking at school, we'd for sure get another one at home too. Dad would buy material in bolts to make our clothing. All of our dresses were made from the same pattern but had different trim so we could tell them apart. If one of us grew out of the pattern, Mother would take a newspaper and cut out a larger one. The dress always had another girl to grow into it. We had two dresses for school to change once a week and one dress for Sunday. We had to change into our good dress right before we were ready to go and out of it as soon as we got home so it wouldn't get dirty so fast. Our underwear was all home sewn too. A bolt or two of flannel for winter was bought and flower sacks provided the material for summer underwear. Wash water had to be carried in and out again. We heated it on the range in a wash boiler. We had a tub, wash board and home made soap to work with. The clothes were rubbed on the board to clean them. The white clothes were boiled to get them clean. The dark clothes were rubbed twice then rinsed and hung out on the line to dry. If we ran out of clothes line we would use the barbed wire fence. If we smaller kids would get them in, we would sometimes have small holes in them from the barbs. In the winter it froze the clothes and it was hard to get all the washing over with in one day. Then came the washing machine! It had a handle to push back and forth and up and down to agitate the clothes. The lid had an attachment with four knobs that moved back and forth also. It had a wringer to turn by a handle, no more hand wringing. After the hand crank machine came the gas motor and then the electric motor on the washer. Now, we even have an electric clothes dryer. Mother had a wangle iron. It had a roller like a rolling pin only longer and no handles. Then a 2x4 board with one handle and curves on the underside. She would roll this over the roller back and forth until it was straight. We had a set of irons, usually three and one handle. These were heated on the range. When one was cold, it went back on the range and got another hot one again. Next came the gas iron and then the electric iron and now no iron material. In Russia they had feather beds. Here they had strawsacks. This was a sack made as large as the bed with a slit in the middle and a couple of ties. It was filled after harvest with nice straw every year. It was laid on boards in the bed to keep it up. The ties were untied to fluff up the straw and then tied back up again. We used a small quilt to cover the slit and then a sheet or a blanket next and the rest of the bed covers. After more corn was being raised, the soft corn husks were used in place of the straw. We small kids had to go a long way to pick up the soft husks when corn was harvested. We would put them in a gunney sack and gather enough for three or four beds. Sometimes they would snap corn, pile it up at home and shuck it there. Then came bed springs with the mattress, innerspring mattresses and now waterbeds. Stoves-Russian ovens. Grandpa Adolf was the only one here to have one of these. Next came the black cast iron stove. You could buy polish to make it shine. Then came the granite range. It was an improvement because it could be washed off after use. When the coal oil stoves came to cook and heat with, we had no more fuel to carry in and ashes to carry out. Then came the gas ranges, propane ranges, electric ranges and now the microwaves. At first when little corn was raised we had few corn cobs to use for fuel. We would feed the hogs ear corn. When they had eaten it off we would pick up the cobs out of the pig pen. Some of them were very messy and we would throw them outside to dry out and burn later. These would burn longer than the clean cobs but smelled much worse. We all burned cow chips then too. We would put a double box on the wagon and take along a lunch to eat and head out to pick up cow chips wherever we would find them. If no one was ahead of you, it didn't take long to fill the wagon, but sometimes we would have to go as far as to the river. We had few sheds then and the cow chips needed to be kept dry to burn. So we would build a shed with them. We used the bigger ones for the outside walls and fill the middle with the smaller ones and heap them up to make a rounded top. Then we would take fresh cow manure and plaster it over this. It would stay dry all winter. When we needed to use some of these cow chips, we would dig a hole in the side, take what we needed and cover the hole with a blanket to keep out the snow. We would also go along the railroad tracks and pick up coal that was scattered when they fired the steam engines. If a train would come along and a good hearted fireman was on he would throw a few shovels full out so we had more to pick up. Coal could be bought if we could afford it' As more corn was raised less cow chips were burned. Everyone raised a garden. They had big 50 gallon vinegar barrels to store some food in. supplres. A rol or mears v and milk was drunk a lot. We also had corn mush to eat. AII the bread was baked at home. We butchered beef in the winter when it would keep longer. Pork was also butchered and the hams and bacon were cured and sausage was made. Mother would also fry it up and put it in a crock, cover it with lard and use it later. We also ate a lot of jackrabbits, young pigeons and sometimes we had frying chickens in the summer. We had to butcher these in the morning to serve at the noon meal so the meat would not spoil. Later we canned meats and vegetables. Then came the deep freeze for longer storage and now food is available as you need it over the counter. by Theresia Kramer STAHLECKER KRAMER FAMILY F668 William "Bill" Stahlecker was born February L7,1907 north of Bethune, Colorado to Gottlieb and Minnie Stahlecker. He was one of eight children; Clara, Otto, Gottlief, William, Emma, Bertha, John, and Anna. They attended a one-room rural school. The means of transportation was walking even though the distance to school was 3% miles. At certain times of the year, they stayed home to help with the farm work. At an early age, Bill stayed home from school and worked for an uncle and later for a close neighbor. In 1929, Bill and his father and brothers built an adobe house and other farm build- ings 7 miles north and 2 miles west of Bethune. Bill and Amelia Kramer were married in October 1929 and lived there several years until they moved 8 miles south where there was more farm ground and pasture. The dust storms of the 1930's came and farming became next to impossible. The only thing that grew were the thistles and even they were picked up and blown away. I remember helping my mother sweep up pans full of the fine dust that had sifted into the house during a storm. Some families stayed and struggled through those years while other moved to Loveland and other cities and found work there. Bill and other men worked for the W.P.A. and helped build roads and bridges. These men would have to milk their cows mornings and evenings to have cream to sell in town so they would have enough cash for groceries and other essentials. The summer of 1942 brought about more changes. Gottlieb and Minnie left the farm they had homesteaded and moved to the Paul Stoltz place for a few years before they finally moved to Loveland in 1945. Bill and Amelia, bought the homestead from Gottlieb and his three brothers and moved there with their family; Clarina, George, Willard, Margie, and Iva. (Ivan and Jean were born in 1943 and 1948.) There were usually two barrels, one filled Gottlieb still had some sheep at the farm and he would come and shear them with a Dad used a stomper to stomp the kraut down in the banel. but Bill remembers that he had to wash his feet clean and go in and stomp it down by foot. Beans and potatoes were raised. We also milked a bunch of cows. We drank separated milk and sold the cream and some eggs to buy flour and sugar or other hand clipper. It was fascinating to watch the wool clipped off all in one piece from one sheep. It would be rolled into a tight ball, fastened with twine and then it would be sold. This was an annual event that occurred each May. The first few years on grandpas' farm, we with dill pickles and one with sauerkraut. �carried buckets of water into the house for cooking, bathing, and laundering. R.E.A. brought electricity to the area in the late 1940's. Before then, we had a windcharger which made electricity and the excess was stored in batteries and used when needed. There were some good wheat crops. I remember helping serve noon meals to the thrashing crews. Neighbors always helped each other. Later on, combines did the work more efficiently. The fall crops of coes and grain were cut by a binder. It cut the stalk and tied it into bundles. The kids would go out the next day and pick up these bundles and set them into shocks. (They look like Indian teepees.) They would be hauled into the yard later and the corn was picked by hand. This was before many farmers were able to buy cornpickers and combines. Chores for the children included helping with milking, feeding pigs, baby calves and chickens and the gathering of the eggs. We brought in cut up fire wood and corn cobs to burn in the coal stove for cooking and heating. When there was extra money, we would get some coal to burn. There was no furnace to heat the place, only the stove in the kitchen. The other rooms in the house were cold in the winter. A few years alter, propane heat was purchased for the Iiving room. I also remember the two and three day blizzards we had. January 1, 1949, Uncle Chris Kramer and dad left to take Lorena Kramer to school in Colorado Springs, they got as far as Genoa and had to stay there for the duration of the storm. George, Willard and I managed to milk the cows and the other chores while mom worried and prayed. I am sure she did plenty of both and were we relieved when dad got home safe on the third day. The Stahlecker homestead is still being lived in by the third generation. George and his wife Janie along with their two boys, Jerry and Tim have done some remodeling to the inside as well as the outside. The original barn is still standing but has been patched up some. Some of the other buildings have crumbled and have been replaced, but the homestead still gives me a nostalgic calm and joy when I am there. by Clarine Stahlecker Fergus STAHLECKER WEISS FAMILY close was advantgeous as they helped each other build their homes and farm buildings. Some of the buildings and houses were built of adobe bricks which consisted of straw mixed with mud, dried into bricks and then built up into walls. The outside walls were then stuccoed. The original houses are still standing and still being lived in. Gottlieb & Minnie had 8 children, they were Otto, Clara, Gottlief, William, Emma, Bertha, John, and Anna. Fred & Jakobine had 5 children. The children grew up together very closely. They went to school and played and worked together. All of the children, even the girls had to stay home from school and help with the farm work. Some ofthem obtained 8 years of schooling, while others did not. Cattle, pigs, sheep and chickens were raised on the farm plus several kinds of crops and many garden crops were grown. The Stahleckers were self-sustaining farmers with very little bought from town. Fruit and Vegetables were canned. Watermelons were pickled in salt brine and then eaten in the fall and winter. It was a treat to eat grandmas' home-made bread spread with thick, rich cream and sprinkled with sugar. Lambs and beef were butchered and canned in jars. Ham and bacon were preserved in barrels of salt brine and the sausages were smoked in the smoke house. The families first car was a Ford probably bought in 1913 or 1914. Before then, they traveled everywhere in horse drawn wagons. They were faithful in attending the Ger- man Lutheran Church 11 miles north of Bethune. I remember a dust storm darkening the sky one Sunday before church was over. We drove with the car lights on and got as far as my grandparents where grandma cooked dinner and we ate using the light of the kerosene lamps. Grandpa and grandma retired from farming in 1945 and moved to Loveland Colorado where they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. All 8 children were present along with 35 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren. by Clarine Stahlecker Fergus STAHLECKER, ROBERT AND MILDRED F669 My grandfather, Gottlieb Stahlecker, was born in 1878 to Martin & Catherine (Juengling) Stahlecker. They lived for a time in South Dakota before moving to the area north of Bethune, Colorado known as the German Settlement. The parents had come from Russia in the 1800's but Gottlieb and his brothers and sisters were born in Nebraska and South Dakota. Sisters Minnie & Jakobine Weiss arrived as young ladies from Russia and immediately they were admired and courted by two of the Stahlecker brothers, Gottlieb and Fred. The couples were married on August 24, 1902 in a double ceremony. They then home steaded t/q mile apart; 6 miles north and 1% miles west of Bethune. The purpose of living so together, We picked up prunes from the ground after the trees had been shaken. Then there was filberts and walnuts to pick (crawling on west ground now). Later we both worked in the cannery. I peeled twenty two bushel of pears per day but the supervision said it was not enough and unless I could do better would lose my job so I did not return. We got a job in a dairy. Robert milked 15 cows by hand and did field work and cared for sheep and angora goats. The pay was $50 per month. In October of 1936 we decided to return home to our little 160 acre farm north of Bethune. We were lucky to get most of our furniture right away as we attended a community sale where a family who were leaving were selling all of theirs. Later we needed horses with which to farm so Robert went to a horse sale and bought a bunch of wild horses. Two of them were beautifully matched bay horses which we hoped would make a team to be proud of. But this was not to be. What we did not know but found out later was that they were rodeo horses aged four and six years old, they never tamed down. As soon as the harness was on the they thought it was time to perform! Our good friend who delt in livestock bought them and probably returned to the rodeo circuit. We had paid 9100. for them which was a lot of money in those days. One horse was so mean that whenever someone came into the barn he laid back his ears and began kicking. We finally got a good four horse team broke out of the herd and sold the rest. Using this team and a one row lister Robert planted the corn. We raised some very good corn crops. They were good years! We built several adobe buildings. Using loose soil, straw and water having the horses trample it into an even mixture, and using a six tined fork it was laid up in layers. One layer upon another. Each layer was allowed to dry some before another was added. These buildings were durble and cheap but hard work to build. In 1943 we adopted a nine year old boy John Dennis. He remained with us until he was sixteen when he purchased a car and went out on his own. One year a tornado came thru it went around the buildings but when it came to the hay rack it lifted it neatly over the fence and dropped it several times (gouging a large hole in the ground each time) and finally landed F670 Mildred (Fanselau) and Robert Stahlecker were married December 11. 1934. We moved into our two room adobe house, which Robert had built the year before. It was the year of the horrible electric storms which brought dust like walls of dirt which even got into our homes and we sometimes breathed thru dampened wash cloths. It had not rained all summer nor snowed that winter and deciding the grass may have died we left in March of 1935 for Newberg, Az. smashed in the field. We enjoyed the radio programs and listened to the various plays ect. each day. A far cry from our modern T.V. pictures. We shucked the corn by hand with a team of horses and wagon with high boards on one side that would stop the ears of corn when we threw them. We usually had about twenty four head of cattle. The cows kept their calves and when they were fat in the fall we sold them. They were mostly Herefords and I always thought Colo., Ok., and Dakotas we were glad to find their pretty white faced calves were so cute. We also raised broiler chicks in a "batterv" (a brooder with shelves) They also *ete s.t"h cute fluffy little things. When they first cnme berries (crawled all day on hands and knees) next picked cherries from trees as high as telephone poles (shakey business!) picked hops, our field had 1,000 pickers working from the hatcheries in Missouri. We also had hogs and turkeys. We bought another 160 acres of grass land in about 1940 so we broke the rest ofthe other and had more to farm, (about 140 acres of There were so many people there from any kind of work. First we picked straw- �farm land). We always raised feed for the cattle and stacked it to use the next year in case of a crop failure. Later we got a little John Deere tractor (G.P.) which made the work easier and still later a small John Deere combine. We were brought up to fear debts so never went into debt and never regretted it. It was a good life - lots of laughs and a few tears. In 195? we decided to move into town. I worked as a baby sitter and was very happy doing that. I met many fine people and shared a lot of love with lots of kids. Robert worked for Great Western Sugar Company for seven seasons, helping to establish the receiving depot here in Burlington. He also did carpenter work and a Iot of painting both interior and exterior. We have lived here in Burlington now for nearly thirty years and think it's the best place in the whole wide world! Our parents were Henry and Lily Fanselau and Fred and Jacobine Stahlecker. by Mildred Stahlecker STALGREN, CHARLES AUGUST AND IDA MARIE F671 Wyo. on account of Mathilda's health. She had tuberculosis. Mathilda passed away 5 Feb., in 1892. Claus farmed the boys out in the country at Pine Bluffs, Wyo. Emil and Herman to widow and son, Johnson and Gus to an old couple, C.L. Johnson. He went to visit them often. One time he rode horseback from Cheyenne to Pine Bluffs to give Gus a horse, saddle and a22 caliber rifle. Hannah had tuberculosis in her hip and Claus sent her to a hospital in Chicago for about a year. They cured her hip, but her leg never grew. Claus married Ida Marie Jonsdotter Lett, 5 Sept. 1892. She was born 8 Dec. 1860 in Stenbrohult Parish, Sweden, and came to the U.S. 18 July 1883. Her parents were Jon Germundsson and Cathrina Pehrsdotter. She married Charles Lett and had two daughters, Hilda Irene, born 11 Dec. 1886 and Julia Wilmona, born 3 Feb. 1890. Mr. Lett died about the same time as Mathilda. The new family lived in Cheyenne, Wyo. They brought Emil and Herman to their home in Cheyenne and Gus still stayed with C.L. Johnson. Claus quit the tailor bench in man and Gus would drive the ole horse and buggy 3 miles to school. Claus took out his final papers to become a citizen of the U.S., 24 Nov. 1893, in Cheyenne, Wyo. Maude Olive was born on this place, 18 May 1893 and Ann Margaret was born 10 Oct. 1894. The family lived there about 3 years. Then Claus took a homestead 4 miles north of Salem, Wyo., about 18 miles north and west of Pine Bluffs. The improvements on this place were: three sons, Wm. Jr., Richard and Robert. Ida Lorraine married Raymond Wright and had thirty acres under cultivation. Also, Iots of married Mathilda Sophia Nilsdotter, who was born, 28 Oct. 1859. While they lived in Sweden, they had three children; Gus, born 1 Jan. 1881, Emil, born 29 Sept. 1882 and Hanna Sophia, born 26-27 Aug. 1884. When Claus lived in Sweden, he was a professional tailor and had his own shop. The family left Sweden, Mar. 23, 1888 and anived in Bradshaw, Nebr., 8 Apr. 1888, to stay with Mathilda's uncle and family. They soon moved to York, Nebr., where Claus worked as a tailor. He took out intention of becoming a citizen of the U.S. in York, Co., Nebr., the 17th of Sept. 1888, and changed his name to Claus A. Stolgren. Herman was born 9-10 Apr. 1890 in York, Nebr. In 1890, they moved to Cheyenne, World War I and II. He married Ruth Fithian, 28 May 1925. She had one son, Mark and they had a daughter, Darlene. Ruth passed away in 1927. Roy died 14 Apr. 1884, in Burlington, Colo. Darlene and Mark preceded him in death. Jo married Wm. Frailey and lives in Toole, Utah. They had he had bought near Tracy, Wyo. (just a U.P.R.R. siding). They raised cattle and milked cows, sold butter and eggs. Cattle prices raised about that time, so they were doing O.K. Emil, Hilda, Julia, Hanna, Her- building, 4 rooms, stable, 150' Iong, sheds, windmill and 160 acres, fenced. There were Claus August (Charles August) Stahl was born in Appelhuit, Hjalmeryd, Jonkoping, Sweden,30 Apr. 1858. His father was Gabriel Magnusson Stahl, who was a soldier, and his mother was Maria Christina Jonasdotter. He and had two daughters, Alice and Lois. He was a tailor and lived in Denver, Colo. He died 7 June 1972. Irene married Earl Moore Harding and lived in Seattle, Wash. Theyhad two daughters, Helen and Betty. Irene died 4 Apr. 1976. Julia never married, lived at home and died 10 Apr. 1920. Maude was a teacher and married Elbert Nider. He passed away in 1915. She married Tom Burke and they were later divorced. She came home to care for her mother in 1943. After her death. she stayed there with her two brothers, Emil and Roy. She died 5 Apr. 1950, in Denver, Colo. Anna married Charles Pratt and lived in Omaha, Nebr. They had four children, Dorothy, Clayton, Bonnie and Emil Donald. She died 9 Apr. 1951. Roy served in both Cheyenne, about 1893, and moved to a place a frame house, two rooms, 16'x24', out The Charles August Stalgren Family taken in 1904. Back row: Emil, Julia, Irene, Gus, Herman and Maude. Front row: Ida Lorraine, Charles A., Roy, Ida Marie, Pearl, Hanna and Josephine shops. He had one son, Harold. Gus died 3 July, 1975. Emil served in World War I and after the death of his father was both brother and father to his brothers and sisters. Emil spent most of his life working with horses and cattle. He died quietly at home, 21 June 1958. Hanna never married and stayed at home, doing most of the family's sewing. She passed away, 6 Dec. L922, at home. Herman married open county and good grass for cattle raising. Three children were born on this place, Roy Robert Benjamin, 3 Aug. 1897, Josephine Marie, g Sept. 1898 and Ida Lorraine, 15 Aug. 1899. Claus built that place up to a regular ranch and was doing real well, till the bad five children, Marjorie Marie, born 24 Nov. 1921; Katheryn Joan, born 31 Aug. 1925, died 30 Sept. 1926; Joyce Elaine, born 12 Jan. 1928; Bill Ray Frank, born 26 Oct. 1929; and Jacky Leigh,24 July 1938. Both Ida and Raymond were killed in an accident,4 Jan. 1948. Pearly married Clifford Chittem and lived in Denver, Colo. They had one son, Boyd. She died 8 Sept. 1969. Charles August Stalgren passed away, 9 Sept. 1907 and Ida Marie, 27 Jan.1944. They are both buried in the Beaver Valley Cemetery in Kit Carson Co., Colo. Julia, Maude, Emil, Hanna and Roy are also buried in the Beaver Valley Cemetery. bv Bill R. Wright winter killed off all the southern cows he had bought the fall before. In 1900, the family moved to Sterling, Colo. and then to Weskan, Kans. They didn't stay there very long. They moved 4 miles north of Goodland, Kans., in a covered wagon. They rented the old Russell Ranch and raised cattle. Pearl Ethel was born there, 5 July 1903. Then they moved to eastern Colo., north and little west of Kanorado. Hanna filed for a homestead there. They established residence, 15 Dec. 1905. She had to file in Hugo, Colo. They were spelling Stolgren with an a now, Stalgren. They built a sod house on this place. It had six rooms and was well furnished. They also built a frame barn, L6'x24',shed 10'x60', chicken house, granary 26' and,40', adobe milkhouse, well windmill and pump, two tanks and frame coal house. There were 2th miles of fencing and 70 acres broken out. They raised barley, corn, cane and wheat. Some good years, some bad. The children that were school age, went to the Plainview School in Kit Carson County, Colo. Gus married and lived in Denver, Colo. working for a railroad in the maintenance STALGREN, EMIL F672 "When you ask me to recall the bygone days when I was a young cowpoke, the one thing that comes to my mind are the short nights. I know that I'll never forget them. They stand out in my mind so vividly and were so much a part of my youth, that it has always been a wonder to me that in all the western stories I have read that no one ever spoke of the short time that a cowboy could spend in that wonderful bed roll. Yes, the ground was hard and sometimes it was cold and sometimes it was wet and raining or snowing, but it was always the same - I rolled up and that was the last thing I knew until it was morning." These words were spoken by Emil Stalgren. Emil Stalgren was born Sept. 29, 1882, in Sweden. He arrived in this country with his parents, Charles August and Mathilda Sophia Stalgren in 1888, along with his brother Gus and sister Hanna. They stopped first in �York, Neb., but in a short time went on to Cheyenne, Wyoming. Here Emil's father opened a tailor shop. Matilda passed away 2L Jan., 1892. Later his father remarried and they lived different places in Wyoming until Emil was Roy enlisted Oct. 23, 1918, at Burlington, Colo. to serve in World War I. He was a private in Co. D, 2nd Army Artillery Park Co., in the United States Army. He served at Ft. McArthur, Calif. He got the flu, while in the army and they thought he was going to about 17 years old, when they moved to Sterling, Colo. and shortly thereafter to die, so they put him in the tent with the critically ill. Not knowing he was that sick, Wallace, Kans. Here he learned much about how to care for himself and how to mix with the outfits and cowpunchers. He learned a Iot about horses and decided he liked them. He Roy thought they put him there to take care was roping, branding, herding and doing many other things when he should have been going to school. He did not like the pay and so he decided to go back to Wyoming. He came to a settlement called Pine Bluffs and was soon working for a man by the name of Parker. He got $30.00 per month, meals included. The Old Texas Trail went through Emil's stomping ground and he thought he was on the last drive. This was a drove of 5,000 that were being taken to Montana and they were moving and grazing slowly along. This trail meandered over a trail that was about 20 miles wide so there would be a little grass to eat on the way. He left Wyoming in 1906 and came to Kit Carson County, Colo., where the rest of the family had homesteaded. Emil was both brother and father to his brothers and sisters after the death of his father in 1907. He was a good neighbor and loved his fellow men, especially little children. Emil was inducted into the army in the spring of 1918 and served with the calvary. He received his discharge, March 14, 1919. There was a period when there was a rodeo at the Stalgren's every Sunday afternoon. The cowpunchers were always welcome at the Stalgrens and they liked to stop in. Everyone behaved. It seemed no one ever doubted Emil's ability to keep order. Just a little remark from him and everything was right again. He had a way with people of any caliber of mentality or character. On June 21, 1958, Emil's brother Roy, with whom he lived, went to town to get groceries and returned home, and not finding Emil in the kitchen as usual. looked in the bedroom. He was lying on the bed. Emil Stalgren was dead. He was buried in the Beaver Valley Cemetery, the cemetery he had helped start and had helped care for since he was a young man. Many of his relatives lay there waiting for him. by Bill R. Wright STALGREN, ROY of the others. Instead of dying, he got well. He was honorably discharged Dec. 16th, 1918. ln L922, to fill the need and make some money, while doing it, Roy, Frank Anderson and Fred Teman and his wife, bought horses locally and drove them to Utah. The Mormons, in Utah, were in need of horses, both riding & draft. A wagon was equipped with a canvas top, similar to the pioneer covered wagons, to carry the supplies and a stove for Mrs. Teman to cook on. Archie Anderson went along as far as Flagler where, by then, the horses were "trail broke". Archie then returned home and the herd moved on. Little details are known ofthe difficulties ofthe trip but one can imagine there were many. Upon arriving in Utah, the horses were sold, including the ones they were riding. Frank stayed in Utah several years and the others came home on the train. Roy & Ruth Fithian were married, Mar. 28, 1925, at Goodland, Kans. She had a son, Mark. They lived on a farm in NE Kit Carson, Co., Colo. & Sterling, Colo. A daughter, Darlene, was born, in 1925. Ruth died in 1929 and Darlene went to Iive with Ruth's aunt, Charlotte Cromwell in Lincoln, Nebr., who owned & lived in the Cornhusker Hotel. On Oct. 24, L942, he was again drafted to serve in the army, during World War II. He was inducted at Denver, Colo., and was a private with the Detachment Medical Department SCU #1758 at Camp Hale, Colo. He was discharged the 19th of Feb. 1943. He came back to Kit Carson, Co., Colo. to farm and live with his mother, brother Emil and sister Maude. Roy was generous to a fault with everything he owned. In his concern with his neighbor's welfare, it always came before his own. Roy's stock of groceries was unsurpassed by any home in the neighborhood. Canned goods of every size, shape and description were included in his horde. One of his theories behind this was that, in case of a three day blizzard, the neighbors could get groceries from him, when they couldn't get all the way into town. Uncle Roy fell and broke his hip on the 17th of March, 1981. He spent the next three years in hospitals and the Grace Manor Nursing Home in Burlington, Colo. He passed away, Saturday, Apr. 14, 1984 and is buried in the Beaver Valley Cemetery in Kit Carson, Co., Colo. F673 "On the deal," Whenever you heard these words, you knew Uncle Roy was around. His favorite comment to just about anything. No one was ever sure just what it meant, Roy Robert Benjamin Stalgren was born in Salem, Wyo. on Aug. 3, 1897. He came to Kit Carson, Co., Colo., with his parents, brothers & sisters in 1906. He was the youngest son of Charles August & Ida Marie Stalgren. The family was originally from Sweden. Before going to Colo., the family had lived in Nebr., Wyo. and Kans. Roy went to school at the Plainview School in Kit Carson Co.. Colo. Roy loved to drink coffee. Many, many cups were consumed everyday. If the coffee was not hot, then cold would do fine. A Karo syrup bucket, filled with water and coffee, in the morning and hung on the exhaust of his tractor, took care of his needs during the day in the field. The last words Roy spoke, before his death were, "I would like a cup of coffee, please." by Bill R. Wright STAPP, LEONA PUGH F674 I really nm proud ofthe distinction ofbeing the first white child born in Kit Carson County. My.parents, John and Jane Pugh, held the torch high as they answered the challenge to make for themselves a home on the vast expanse of prairie land. On coming to Wray, Colorado, November 16, 1886, from Springer, New Mexico where my father worked as a foreman on a large cattle ranch, they took advantage with many others of the privilege of filing on Pre-Emption and Homestead claims. The ones they chose are about 12 miles north of Stratton. On their arrival in Wray, my parents and friends, Mr. and Mrs. Jones, joined purses and bought a team of horses and wagons to haul the lumber for the necessary finishing touches for a sod house and started out on the 75 mile trek. A terrific storm (snow) forced them to stop in Friend, a post office between Wray and Stratton. There were two or three houses there. (Later when Idalia was organized it was abandoned.) One family living there would give shelter to weary travelers. So here we stopped. The first night the horses broke loose from their tether and it took three days of walking before they were found. By this time mother and Mrs. Jones felt it best for them to stay in Friend, so the men went on. In the meantime I opened my eyes to the beautiful Colorado sunshine on December 22. 1886. I have always listened many times to my mother telling of the three long days when father would have to go to Wray for provisions. And one time they had to put the little colt right between the mares to save him from the gray wolves. As time went on the water situation became so acute they were forced to leave the little old Soddy on the Homestead, and were fortunate in finding an opportunity to buy the famous old Tuttle Ranch. our home for many years. It is still in the family as my brother Lloyd owns it now. My brother Arthur and I roamed the hills for many a treasure find in Indian beads, trinkets and arrow heads. I loved the excitement of the fall round up, and the breaking of the young horses, both to the saddle and harness. The days in early fall when I went with the folks to pick up buffalo chips for our winter fuel wasn't one bit interesting, but I do remember what a hot fire they made with gobs of ashes to carry out. The first Christmas that I remember was such a thrill. We youngsters climbed out of bed way early and found in the stockings we had hung up the night before, a big shiny apple, an orange, popcorn ball and a big stick of striped red and white candy. Another thing that's so vivid was the fear of prairie fire when the grass dried up in the fall. One time a big one came rolling in from the south. It burned two ofour big haystacks in the big meadow. Several of the men came in at noon completely exhausted. Mother fed them all. When they left to meet the force farther north, father hated so to leave us all alone. There was danger ofhidden tongues of fire that would revive and creep down through the south hills. He told us to have wet sacks or anything we could use to beat the flames if they did come. Those dreadful things did come. We fought like demons and �Lester married Dixie Eachus; they raised blocked their path. The men returned about midnight and we were rated real heroes too in helping mother save the Place. four boys: Clifford, Gerald, Robert and David. They lived in Denver where he worked When I became eligible I took uP a homestead claim right close to my father's land, proved upon it. Then, when I tnarried the young man in Iowa, they bought it' And we used the money to build our own home there. where I lived until his death. at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal for a long time. Then in 1954 they moved to St. Louis, and I spent in Llanidloes, Wales, in 1911. It was his first visit home since leaving as a young man to come to America. My father's death in 1913 was indeed a greai shock, as mother was left with the iesponsibility of a big ranch with only young ones to help her, but a valued helper and friend, Bill Lucas, stood by and she weathered the storm. while in Butte, Montana. Then they moved Missouri, where he was a maintenzlnce man at different plants. Lawrence was most always a truck driver. He married Martha Stallsworth in 1950. They worked as managers of a hotel for a Another highlight was the six weeks father The last item in my story is full of good things as mother and I live so comfortable herJin Stratton close by my brother Lloyd and sisters, Mabet Guy and Gladys Quinn. I enjoy to the fullest every activity in our E.U.B. Church and have a wealth unsurpassed in wonderful friends. by Leona Alice Pugh StaPP wagon). the Navy for a while. bY DorothY Harwood 191?; Mildred M. 1921; Lester I. 1924; and Lawrence W. 1928. AII but Vernon got most of their education at Sunny Slope School north of Arriba. Dad was a small farmer who farmed with horses, raised wheat, barley, oats, corn and STEGMAN FAMILY F676 . . also hogs and some some beans and cane cattle. So we had our meat, milk, cream and butter. One evening as we were out pulling and picking beans after school, Mother ran onto a rattlesnake all coiled under a vine. That put a stop to our evening work. Mother raised a garden and chickens so we had some fresh vegetables to eat. Also she canned quite a lot and had plenty of eggs and fryers. She baked most of our bread; a loaf of boughten bread then was a treat. STEDMAN - PROAPS FAMILY William A. Stedman at work on drayline (middle to Marion, Oregon. They have 4 children, Letha, Diana, Cherry and Billy who was in F675 : We butchered a hog once in a while to have meat and lard. They'd make a brine of brown sugar, salt and smoke flavoring for curing the meat, using a big wooden barrel to put it in. We made our own sausage and Mom canned this in jars in the oven. We would pick up cowchips for firewood but would take out more ashes than the fuel put in the stove. They were a real quick hot fire. Also one winter I remember burning corn on the cob; corn wasn't worth too much. We used kerosene lamps to read, study and sew by at nights and a kerosene lantern to chore by if we didn't get the chores done before dark. Times were hard but we always had plenty to eat and were clean and had a roof over our head. Wayne and I began our schooling in a little sod school house 14 miles north and 2 miles west of Arriba in 1923. Then Wayne, Mildred, Lester and I finished our schooling at Sunny Slope. In 1937 the folks moved to Hugo, Colorado, where Dad had work on W.P.A. After that they moved to Ordway in 1942 where Dad *oiked as drayman and with the railroad until his passing from a sunstroke in 1946. Coal schutt where Dad worked 1943 (Bill Stedman). William (BiIl) Stedman was born at Ionia, Kansas, October 2, L884, and Miss Jennie June Proaps was born near Logan, Kansas, June 15, 1886. They were united in marriage at Bogue, Kansas the 21st day of April 1907. He was working as a citY draYman in Stockton, Kansas, at the time of their marriage, moving to Colorado and taking up a homestead north of Flagler in 1907. Here their family began. Vernon L. was born in 1910; Wayne A. 1914; Dorothy M. Mother passed awaY in 1951. Wayne, our oldest brother, worked out a lot. In his later years he worked as a miner at the big open pit at Butte, Montana, until he contacted black lung and could work no more. Then it was me, Dorothy, finishing my schooling and ready to try my wings. I met Frank Harwood at Sunday School one Sunday in 1933. We went together for quite some time and in August of 1934 we began our home together and have been together for almost 53 years, raising 4 children. Mildred, our sister, graduated in Hugo in 1938. She married a serviceman, Harland Meade, from Kentucky. They lived at Fowler and Ordway where he did a lot of trapping beside holding down a job. In 1954 they and their two children moved to Albany, Oregon. Jerome Stegman at Homecoming in 1975 Jerome Stephen Stegman was born in Kansas, May 22,1913. He was the ninth child of George and Elizabeth Stegman of Offerle. His grandparents migrated from Pfiefer, Russia. His grandparents were German-Russian. He grew up in this same area. Jerome helped his father on the farm working with horses. He helped raise broom corn and make brooms. He also helped in a nursery. In 1934 he married Josephine Katz. They farmed near Offerle. In 1946 they moved south of Stratton on a farm near the Cheyenne County line. The children attended First Central School. The home they moved into was made of sod. Electricity and telephones were not available in the area until several years later. The children felt they lived so far from civilization that they would never get to meet anyone. Farmers and neighbors formed baseball teems. These teams played in pastures where ball diamonds were set up. Some years were very good, as far as crops, but there were also very bleak years with dust storms and drought. Wheat was the major crop. Later when the irrigation wells were installed, corn became important for ensi- �lage. For quite a few years they raised turkeys and chickens. One of the fun times was when neighbors would get together to butcher chickens, another was driving cattle to the dipping vats. Jerome always had a large herd of cattle. Milking cows and selling cream helped provide for food and groceries. Large gardens were planted and much canning was done for winter foods. One of the sad times was when the two story barn burnt during the night in the fall of 1949. The light of the fire was seen for miles. Many neighbors came to help. In 1950 Jerome and Josephine built a home in Colorado Springs. Later they sold it and moved back to the farm. In 1951 Josephine was killed in an auto accident and was buried at Calvary Cemetery at Stratton. They had seven children. In November, 1952, Jerome married Dorothy Katz. They lived on the farm south of Stratton. Jerome was the first person to have an irrigation well in that area, which is pumping at the present. Mail was delivered three times a week from Bethune. One winter the children stayed in town for two weeks so they could attend school, as the roads were impassable due to the blowing snow. In 1963 Jerome felt the pressures of many problems. He decided to retire from farming and built a home in Stratton. They moved into their home in February, 1964. Jerome started driving the school bus and worked as a janitor at the Catholic Church and School. Dorothy and the children helped him in his work. He also worked for area farmers. never losing his love for cattle and the good earth. In 1976 Jerome underwent a triple by-pass. After his surgery, Jerome regained his strength and gradually went back working fulltime. Three family reunions were held, with the last being held July 18, 1982, being the greatest. It was held in Colorado Springs. All of the children were there. Thev came from California, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon and Canada. On Saturday, July 18, 1982, the reunion started with a dedication and service. A dance followed in the evening. Sunday morning was started with everyone going to Mass, followed by a pancake breakfast. The afternoon was spent taking pictures and saying goodbyes. Mary and Carl Smelker were the host for this reunion. In October 1981, Jerome lost the tips of two fingers on his right hand and again in 1982 lost the tips of two fingers on his left hand. It was during a routine checkup that the doctors discovered that he was again to have major surgery. This operation was extremely taxing on his physical strength, and he never fully recovered. Jerome and Dorothy traveled to many sports events in which their children participated. Jerome was always a sports enthusiast. he played baseball in his early days and later umpired for many games at Stratton. Jerome passed away on March 26, 1989, after a two week illness. He is buried in Calvary Cemetery. Dorothy still lives in Stratton. She is a teacher's aide and a bus driver for the Stratton School. Children of the Stegman family are as follows . . . Mary Ann Smelker married Carl Smelker on October 18, 1950. They live in Colorado Springs and have five children and six grandchildren. They own Smelker Concrete Pumping, Inc. Kenneth Jerome married Patricia J. Lillv August 30, 1975. Kenneth has three children and two grandchildren. Pat and Kenneth are both working in insurance. They own Surety Life. Their hobby is raising Paint horses. They are both involved in community functions. Andrea Geraldine married Claude Maxon in 1966. They have operated several businesses and owned several. At the present, they are taking life easy and enjoying their home in Fullerton. California. Constance Josephine married David Baker in 1961. They live in Indian Hills, Colorado. They have three children. Connie and David both love the outdoors. Elizabeth Kathleen, better known as Kathy, married Glen Leavitt in 1966 in Las Vegas where they have lived all their married Iife. They have both worked in various clubs. Kathy and Glen love to hunt and going out in the hills camping. Virginia Lee married Allan Dobler in 1g64. They have five children. At present they live in Seneca, Missouri where they are managing a chicken farm. They follow their children in sports. They also like to rodeo. Patricia Kay is living in Oklahoma City at present. Pat has 2 sons. Joe Howe, whom she married in 1979, passed away May 18th, 1982. He is buried in Calvary Cemetery. Pat plans to return to Colorado in the spring of '88. At present she is attending college. Colleen Marie married Ray Stutzman in 1966. They lived in Denver and later moved to Oregon. They have two daughters. Colleen loves to garden, can foods, and grow flowers. Both Ray and Colleen love to fish. Robert Morris married Lynette Allen in 1967. Bob and Lynette have four children. At the present, they live in Washington. Bob is in the construction business. Linda Dianne married Johnny Johnson in 1969. Linda attended Pikes Peak Institute of Medical Technology in Colorado Springs. Linda is employed as an office manager for a transport company. They have two children. The family is active in outdoor sports. George Steven married Michele Bilak on September 12, 1981, in Genessee Park in Colorado. George worked as respiratory therapist in many Denver hospitals before moving to East Rochester, New York. He works in Highland Hospital as a therapist. Michele works at Delco Products Division of General Motors. They have three little girls. Delmar Eugene married Linda Borden in 1976. Del has kept busy even with his disability. He spent long months in body cast and braces. He also underwent extensive surgery on his back and hip. Del and Linda live in Colorado Springs. Linda works in a rest home and Del runs an advertising paper. They have three children, one girl and two boys. high school days. They also played softball for summer recreation. They have four daughters. They live south of Stratton where {grome lived. They have cattle and sheep. Their joys are horses and dogs. Elizabeth Ann married Tim Pautler in L975 at Stratton, Colorado. Tim is engaged in farming. They live north of Stratton. Thev are active in many community projects. They are parents ofthree daughters. Both Tim and El?abeth graduated from Stratton High. Cynthia Josephine married Jay Robinson in 1985. They live in Fountain, Colorado. Jav works for a landscaping company. Cindy graduated from NJC, Sterling, Colorado. Cindy works as a secretary. They are blessed with two children. Rita Fracyne married John Kadaw in 1983. Rita and John both graduated from the University of Northern Colorado. Rita now works in the Weld Library District. They have a darling boy and are expecting anothei. They both enjoy hunting and fishing. Jeanine Marie married Billy Hornung in 1985. Both of them graduated from Stratton and attended UNC in Greeley. Jeanine attended and graduated from Colby Community College in June, 1984, with an associate degree in practical nursing. She graduated with Phy Theta Capa honors. Billy and Jeanine live north of Stratton. Thev are involved in ranching and farming. They have a son, Louden. Jacqueline Elaine was born on Februarv 29, 1964. She was born on her Uncle Bills' birthday, which is quite unique. She was an outstanding basketball and volleyball player. Jackie attended Adams State in Alamosa. Colorado. She played college basketball for four years. In 1983 her team went to Nationals. Jackie is teaching in Elizabeth, Colorado, in the high school. She enjoys cooking and sports. Bernard Jerome was born in 196b. He attended Stratton Schools where he was active in wrestling. His greatest challenge was to go to state competition. He was district champion all four years. In his junior year he placed third at state. His senior year, he placed fifth. Bernie attended Colby Community College his freshman year. He graduated from Sterling NJC in the spring of 1986. That fall entered the army. He is stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He plans to enter college when he returns home. Juleen Reanee was born October 6. 1966. She graduated from Stratton High. She was active in sports and many school activities. She was FHA president for two years, and chosen to National Honor Society her sophomore year. She attended McCook Community College, where she played basketball for two years. Juleen studied child care. She graduated in 1987. Juleen is working as a nanny in Colorado Springs. Though many of Jerome's children are living throughout the country, they will Theresa Marie was married to Mark Amos always have many happy memories of their lives in Stratton. Nineteen of the children have graduated from the Stratton school district. They have always felt proud to call Stratton their home town. Washington County. They have two children. Theresa loves being a mother and housekeeper. She also likes to garden and grow flowers. Stephen Jerome married Connie Livingston in 1974. Steve and Connie alwavs loved sports and participated in many during their by Dorothy Stegman in 1973. Mark was in the army at that time. They lived in Buffalo, Wyoming for a while, later moving to Flagler, where he had a welding shop. In 1985 the welding shop burned. Mark is now a state patrol officer in �STETLER, GRANT F677 I was born in Carey County, Ohio, Sept. 25, 1863, and spent my boyhood days there with my parents on a farm. Hearing the stories of the wonderful West and the opportunity of owning your own home, I decided to take my chance with the others who had immigrated into the new country. So I left my home in Ohio, and came by train to Benkleman, Nebr., then to Bird City, Ks., where an older brother was living. I came with the intention of taking a homestead in western Kansas, but soon learned that all desirable land had been taken up there. So I left my trunk with my brother and took a few supplies with me. A man bythe name of Mack Criger and I walked into Colorado, arriving on March 8, 1887. We enjoyed the trip across the plains eager to get to our destination and learn what the new land looked like, and where we would be located. It took us two days to walk from Bird City to a home owned by Bevelheimer. He was then living on the original townsite platted for Burlington, but from which the town later moved to a site 2 miles east. The night we reached the Colorado line, we were footsore and very weary. We stayed overnight with a Mr. Van Horn and family. There were blisters on our toes and the kind old lady let us bathe our feet and rub them with coaloil. I have never forgotten her kindness to us and how cheered we were to continue our journey. We both took pre-emptions joining and filed our papers at Kiowa, then decided to return to Bird City for supplies. Having no conveyance, we again set out on foot. We walked all day and came to a farm house that night, and asked for a bed. But evidently they didn't like our looks, for they told us they had no place for us to stay. So we just kept walking and walked all night. We followed the angling trail across the prairie to a place where the road forked. One trail leading east and the other angling northeast. We got started on the wrong trail and had walked some miles when we discovered our error. So, as there was no other mark by which we could find our bearings, we looked at Polaris to guide straight north to the angling road, or trail and finally arrived at Bird City. In Bird City, we bought some lumber for our house, a breaking plow, a team of mules, and a wagon. Then we put in some food supplies; consisting of flour, lard, salt side meat, and beans; and bedding, and dishes. We then drove back to our locations in Colo., and build a sod house on the line between the two claims. Criger located on the NE % of 178-44, and I on the SE % of 8-8-44. This was a substitutional little shack with a good roof and a wood floor. We lived here until we could prove on our claims. We had a home made bedstead, and used boxes for cupboards and chairs. Our mail was brought from Ft. Wallace, to Eustis, Kansas, then brought to Colo. by farmers or the stage. The mail sack was left at the home of Jim Anderson, a homesteader near us. We would take the mail sack in the back room of his home, dump the mail on the floor, and get ours out. Then return the mail to the sack, and whenever we met a man whom we knew had received mail. we told him, then he'd go to Andersons to get it. Water was hauled from Lost Man Creek until I dug a well 140 ft. deep. We then had water as long as we stayed there. While I was in Bird City, I met a James Knapp, who at that time was digging the well in the public square, in the town. Later he came to Colo. and dug a number of wells on the ranches around Burlington and for a number of years after procuring a well drilling outfit, he drilled wells and erected windmills for the STEVENS - CALL AND STEVENS - SPURLIN FAMILIES F678 settlers. When buying supplies for our new home, we made an error by purchasing a gasoline cook stove instead of a little "topsy" or cook stove, for when we got to Colo., we discovered we couldn't get gasoline here. So we dug a hole in the ground outdoors and built a fire with buffalo chips, the only available fuel. We were obliged to cook in this manner until we could purchase a cook stove some weeks later. My team of mules and a breaking plow made my living for me, for I got work among the early settlers breaking the ground for tree-culture claims and planting young trees. A number of people came from Skidmore, Mo. and took tree claims, and we got the job of breaking the ground and planting the trees. When I first came here, I brought some of fathers tools. that he used in his blacksmith shops in Flat Rock, and in Carey, Ohio. Among them a brace and bit, a square, and some other pieces. I have used them since and they are pretty well worn now. I also have a stove poker my father made for me when I was a lad. We were thrilled when we learned the Rock Island was coming through here, in Oct. and the grading begun the following April, in 1888. I helped dig the railroad well at Flagler. Fay and Alberta Stevens in the late 1920's in Benkleman, Nebr. My dad, Virgil Fay Stevens Sr., moved to western Kansas with my grandparents. The I watched the little towns grow from tents to their present size. I have seen people come, homestead was just north of Bird City, Kansas. In those days, it was not unusual to stay a short time, and go on, too discouraged see Indians pass by. My mother, Alberta Call, to stand the battle a bit longer. But there was born and raised in Geneva, Kansas. She were always a few who stayed on, endured the was 18 years old when she graduated from hardships, and have been foremost in the progress and development ofthis area. They were the real pioneers and only a few are left. By working at different jobs, I saved enough to return to Ohio, and in Jan. 1889, I was married to Etta M. Slaymaker. We returned to Burl by the new Rock Island and at once got a relinquishment, on which was a small dugout, having a floor made mostly of knotholes. What a home for a bride! We lived here until the next summer when we built a two-room house with a commodious cellar underneath. I dare say that of all the nice homes we've had since, none thrilled us as much as when we moved form the dugout, to the soddy. We got a man by the name of John Trout, to dig a well for us and gave him a cow in payment. Water was brought up by a windlass. Later we put up a windmill, built a stone milk house, and made butter, for which we always got 25 cents per lb. We lived here for about 20 years, and sold out in 1907. We came to Burl, where we bought a hardware store and retired after some years in this business. We are now living in our own home in Burlington, Colo. In May, 1937, Grant Stetler passed away. by Janice Salmans school, and moved to western Kansas to teach at a small country school. This is where she met my dad and they were married. They farmed and raised cattle until the drought of the 30's and the depression forced them off the farm. While living on the farm they had four sons, Virgil Jr., Norman, Dean and Dallas. After leaving the farm they moved to Benkelman, Nebraska, where my two sisters Sharon and Connie were born. I started school in Benkelman and went through the seventh grade. Dad had a garage where he made farm equipment. In 1947 we moved to Walla Walla, Washington, where some of dad's brothers were. None of us liked it there so we came back and settled in Burlington where dad helped his brother, Henry, build the Steven's Motel, the first large modern motel and 24 hour restaurant which was located on Rose Avenue. Dad also contracted other buildings, such as the old Save-U market, and built houses until he became ill. He passed away in 1960. My mother still lives in Burlington and celebrated her 80th birth- day in April, 1987. When I moved to Burlington in 1947 I was in the 8th grade. Tony Consbruck was the new principal. The whole school was in one building. When I was a sophomore we used to go to Stratton, usually in an old Model A Ford, or anything that would run. I met a Stratton girl, Doris Spurlin. Her folks ran a dairy and the Hollywood Creamery. We were married in September of 1953, after Doris graduated from high school. I graduated in 1952 and was working for "Jack the Cleaner". �I ran his delivery route to Stratton, Vona and Seibert. Doris had moved to Burlington with two girl friends and worked as a telephone operator. In January 1954, Doris and I, my brother Dean and his wife Freda, went to Fort Benning, Georgia. Dean and I were in the first NCO (Non-Commissioned Officers) school, class #1 at the Fort and trained with regular army and officer candidates. In 1958 Dean, Freda and their two children, Doris, and our two daughters Dana and Debbie and I moved back to Burlington from Brush. We purchased "Jack the Cleaners" and became partners in business at the D&D Cleaners located at 470 14th Street. Dean later moved to Flagler and operated an additional cleaning plant. After settling in Burlington we had three daughters, Diane, Devona, and Dee, and a son Derek. In 1975 we purchased the business from Felzien Cleaners and moved to a new location at 260 14th Street. In February, 1987, we have been in business 28 years. We have always liked Burlington and Kit Carson County. We know many people all over the county and are very glad we stopped times we had to buy hay and grain that the government had purchased and shipped in. A great deal of it was unfit for the stock to STILL, R. A. AND FREDA eat. Quite a few of the farmers sold their cattle to the government to be killed, rather than buy expensive and oftentimes spoiled F680 feed. When we came to Colorado, there was a great amount of open range, where you could graze your cattle and horses, which helped out considerably during those dry years. However, not everything was on the dark side; there were also good times to be had. These were neighborhood gatherings, visit- ing, card parties and house dances. Almost every weekend there would be a dance at someone's home, Some danced and others that didn't care to dance, played cards. The music was furnished by some of the neighbors. This usually consisted of a piano, violin, and guitar. Each family brought along some food and around midnight, refreshments of sandwiches, cake and coffee were served. A collection was taken to pay for the music. here years ago and decided to raise our family Along in the 40s, things started changing here. All our children graduated from Burlington High School. Two of our children now reside in Burlington. We have six grandchild- for the better. The crops were better and also the prices for the crops. In March 1936, Ethel Kreoger and I were united in marriage. I had a 1929 Essex car and about $40.00 in cash. I had the promise of a job on a farm northeast of Holyoke, about fifteen miles north of Wray; a rod went out the side ofthe engine. But as luck would have it, a couple of men who knew my cousin at Holyoke, came along and picked us up and took us the rest of the way to my cousin's place. I worked on this place for a few months; we then rented a farm north of Burlington. In t942. we left the farm and moved to Denver, where I worked for Remington Arms, making ammunition. We also spent a year in New Jersey, where I had a part in the making of the atom bomb. R.A., Frieda, and Andrew Still during the 1920's. After the war we moved to Hale, Colo., But faithfulness and honesty showed all where I ran the Hale Store and was Postmast- your love was true, and who would ever dream er from the Spring of L947 until August 1948. what all would come. From a horse and buggy courtship to airplane's awesome flight, you've traveled through your life in many ways. ren. Our granddaughter will be the third generation attending Burlington Schools. by Dallas Stevens STEWART FAMILY F679 We moved to a farm southwest of Stratton and lived there until February 1984. After moving there, Ethel taught school for several years. Two years were at the Nutbrook School, located 10 miles south and one mile west of Stratton. Three years were spent Calvin and Ethel Stewart on March 1970 on their 35th wedding anniversary. On March 10, 1932, from Gage Co., Nebraska, came the Stewarts H.R. and Hattie, with their three sons: Calvin, Lamar and Dean to a place 9% miles north of Burlington to what was known as the Tyler place. We arrived at the time the banks were going broke and the drought and dust storms were starting. The fall of '31 Dad came to Colorado and leased the place where we were to live, across the road from land he had purchased previously. The land owners were to do some building, including a house and some work on the barn. However, on arriving at the place, Sixty years is a long time for two to live as one "Surely, this won't last," was said by some. one miles south and one mile west of You've seen such endless changes throughout your married life together, faced it all so unafraid. You both pulled out of Stockton that cold day long ago, one by rail, the other by Model Stratton. T. I were married 38 years; we had 3 daughters: Sandra Lincoln, Marianna, Fla., Patricia You set out in your new life determined and with love to make your life as good as it could be. You've seen a lot of good times Contrasted to the bad; The dirty thirties'darkened skies of dust. at the Smoky Angle School, which was twenty I also spent several years working for the railroad and Kit Carson County. Ethel and Webb, Bethune, Colo., and Sharon Harper, Cedar Hill, Texas. In 1974 Ethel passed away; in 1976, I married Jewell Tatkenhorst. Jewell passed away in 1983. I rm now married to the former When chickens roosted early and night came at midday. The strength that pulled you Betty Miller. through was love and trust. For those whose faith together gets them My brother, Lamar, is living in Denver and brother, Dean, still resides on the home place, through those bad times, rewards are bound to come, and yours came, too. north of Burlington. we found nothing had been done. So we There have been quite a few rough times moved into a sod house that was on the place, until such time as Dad could get a house built and a great many good times. I guess you need the bad times to really appreciate the good for us. ones. The first few years were tough going, as the crops were short and prices low. We were farming with horses at that time, as were quite a few others, and at times it was touch and go as to whether we were going to get feed enough for the horses and cattle. Several Over Sixty Years and "Still' Going Strong by Calvin YY. Stewart Those fields of golden harvest seemed magical at times. The magic, though, was hard work, Mother Nature and you. And speaking of hard work, we can't forget the cows, the milking and to town you hauled the cream. Kanorado was then booming, a busy little town; a hotel, movie house, a growing dream. We want to thank you Grandma. and Grandad, thank you, too. You made us each feel special and always a part. �finishing high school in Flagler, Colorado. And memories you gave us. Too manY, here, to count. Because you have always been Second Central provided grades through ten, all attended junior and senior years in Flagler High School; Donna attended Flagler school a few years longer, Lyle graduated from Flagler High School in 1944. This time in history was an unusual young at heart. Good cooking, Christmas stockings, whistles and bubble gum, sleighrides, laughter, teats, memories we all share. With our congratulations for your shared sixty years, we give our love to you both 'cause we care. And this is so little in comparison to all you have given us. Your grandchildren and great-grandchild- time for many, upsetting many of life's ambitions and plans. After a summer at home, he entered the Army. After training, his outfit was put aboard a Liberty ship, headed for the Pacific area. Japan surrendered and these troops were among the first ren, This poem was written in honor of R.A. and Freda Still's sixtieth Wedding Anniversary, in 1983. Freda passed away in September, 1984. This poem is being placed in this book in fond memory of Grandma, by her Grandchildren, Great-Grandchildren, and R.A. who still lives in their home (north of Kanorado) over 60 years and "STILL" going strong. troops arriving there. After sailing into Nagasaki Harbor, the journey was extended to Nagoya where troops were put ashore. The first permanent outfit was at Koyoto. After a few months, all were shipped to Kochene Stadium at Osaka where men transferred to various parts of Japan. Lyle was transferred to a Signal Corps outfit in Kobe. In 1946, he was shipped back to the states and discharged in November, 1946. On January 24, L948, Lyle married Laura by Susan Corliss Elizabeth Howe of the Bovina area. She STONE, LYLE W. AND LAURA F68l Solomon W. and Rose A. Stone, Lyle Stone's grandparents Lyle W. was born September 22, L926 in a sod house built for his parents, Conrad L. & Minerva (Sloan) Stone, when they were married. His father, Conrad "Connie" was a son of Solomon W. & Rose A. Stone. In this same house, Joyce Elizabeth was born February 10, 1929. The Connie Stone family then moved to the old Moss homestead to live for a time. Here, Dorothy A. was born on the fourth of July, 1930. Connie bought some land south in the range area and built there Conrad and Minerva Stone Family sist€rs Joyce, Dorothy and Donna - LyIe and his a three room adobe house, barns, and necessary buildings to raise livestock. At this place, Donna M. was born on March 7, 1936. Lyle and his sisters, Joyce, Dorothy and Donna attcnded school at Second Central, attended school in Lincoln County, graduating in Genoa in 1945. After a try at farming on the family homestead, their last $50.00 went for seed wheat. The crop was lost that winter in blowing dust. They then moved to Denver where Lyle attended Western Television and Radio Institute. A little over two years later they returned to a home they had built in the Town of Flagler; a shop was established in July, 1951. Plans were to continue in school at Chicago, but comfort of living again in Flagler was too great. By driving school buses, combines and other odd jobs, the business was able to succeed. Laura and Lyle were proud parents of Marvin Lyle, Connie Lee, Peggy Joyce, Lenny Ray, Kelvin Eugene and Laura Beth. AII children attended Flagler Schools. Marvin attended Otero Junior College, Colorado State University, Washington State University and received a doctorate. He now is a professor at Oklahoma State University. Connie Lee attended Mesa College at Rangely one year and two years at Otero College at La Junta. He is now serving as a technician at the family shop. Lenny Ray attended college at Otero Junior College, served a time with the United States Air Force in the "cripto" area and now serves as a communi- cations technician in the family shop. Peggy Joyce lives on the Island of Molokai in the Hawaiian Islands. She attended Colorado * State Teachers College at Greeley, where she received a B.S. degree and a Masters at the University of Hawaii. She is now employed by Social Services on Moloki. Kelvin Eugene attended Colorado College in Colorado Springs and Colorado State Teachers College in Greeley where he received a B.S. degree in Chemistry. He is now chief chemist for the City of Colorado Springs. In 1956, Lyle was elected to the Board of Directors for the Town of Flagler, serving there until 1968. He then was elected mayor and served until 1972. Of this time, a most remembered problem would have been with man's best friends, the dogs. Laura, among all other duties of raising a family has served the business as bookkeeper and general manager through many years, a momentous task. In 1987, the family business has been in operation for 36 years. In conclusion, Flagler Lyle and Laura Stone and family �has been a good place to do business and especially to raise a family. by Lyle TV. Stone STONE, SOLOMON WESLEY F682 Stone, Solomon Wesley, arrived in Kit Carson County in 1914 after a grueling trip from Beverly, Kansas. He was accompanied by his son, Conrad Lyle Stone, known to most as "Connie". Other members of the family, along with household and other equipment, arrived later in Seibert by train. The family first located on the "Cardwell Place", south of Seibert where the family lived until moving to a tract of land Solomon had purchased, some 12 miles southeast of Flagler. A great amount of effort to improve this plot of ground was seen in the next few years when a row oflocust trees was planted, a large area of garden, shrubbery and trees near the homesite. Most who knew them, will recall the row of trees reaching over a half mile, the steep magnesia cliffs and winding incline of the road from the east approach. This location was a welcome change from the at Time, Pike County, Illinois and died July 4, L94L, at Flagler. Rose (Anderson) Stone was born November 12, 1863, at Newton, Iowa and died September 13, 1944, Flagler. Children of Marice Briand and Laura Lenore Briand (Stone) were Joyce Evelyn, Virginia Lenore, Maurice, Hal Burdette, Sol Lewis (Peterson) and William A. Stone were Raymond (died young), Bruck William, Rose Evelyn and Frances June. Children of Minerva Anna (Sloan) and Conrad Lyle Stone were Lyle Wesley, Joyce Elizabeth, Dorothy Anna and Donna Mae. Children of Marjory (Taylor) and Solomon W. Stone were Judeth Roann, and of second marriage to Ida B. (Reynolds), Conrad who died at birth. Conrad Lyle b. Aug. 31, 1898 (Beverly, Ks), Farmer and Stockman, lived most of his life in Flagler area, Colo. Owned ranches and farms south of Flagler, trained as a barber, practiced in Flagler a time. Died at Hoxie, Ks, Jan26,1965, married by Rev. Adna W Moore at Flagler on March 11, 1925. Minerva Anna Sloan b. July 26, 1900 (Selden, Ks), died March 24, 1978 at Hugo, Colo. Loved home and family above all else, played basketball as a youth, enjoyed School Sports and Community affairs. Children: a. Lyle Wesley b. Sept. 22,1926, Telecommunications. Lifetime in Flagler area. Married Jan.24,1948 (Limon). Laura Elizabeth Howe b. March 4, L927 (Genoa, Co), Accountant, Bus Mgr & Homemaker. Children: (1) Marvin Lyle b. June 22, L950 (Denver, Co). Doctorate in Engineering Sciences, Prof at man to Illinois where he engaged in farming. At the onset of the Civil War, joined the 99th Ill. Infantry and after many encounters, became ill at the Battle of Vicksburg from ting. No Children. unsanitary conditions at the front and later died in St. Louis, Mo., when his son, Solomon was only one year old. Solomon, his Mother and three brothers moved then to near Ft. Scott, Kansas, where his mother homesteaded, later marrying a minister who had also homesteaded there named Cardwell. The family then moved to Lecompton, Kansas, where Solomon grew to manhood. On April 20, 1887, Solomon married Rose A. Anderson at Ellsworth, Kansas. The couple spent some time at Topeka where Solomon was engaged as a stonemason in the building of the State Capitol building there. He later bought a farm at Beverly, Kansas, where his children, Alma Elizabeth (died young), Laura Lenore, William Anderson, Conrad Lyle and Solomon Wesley was born. (The youngest son of the youngest son was called Solomon for four generations!) Other members of the Stone family had homesteaded south of Seibert and reported good country, accounting for Solomon's move to Kit Carson County. Here he engaged in farming, construction and road building. He plastered many local homes, ran the concrete for the Flagler water tower, built a few rock buildings, ran sidewalks and curbs in Flagler. He operated a road-building crew when Kit Carson County improved the rural roads in this area. He was known as "Uncle Sol" and she as "Aunt Rose" to all who knew them in the area. They were active in the First Congregational Church in Flagler and the Second Central Sunday School. Solomon Stone was born August L4, L862, F683 and Maryn Kay. Children of Nettie Jo general flat rolling country about it, an oasis of greenery in a normally dry and sometimes dusty land. Solomon Stone was the son of Solomon of Bloomfield, Indiana whose father, also Solomon, had moved there from North Carolina. Solomon of Indiana moved when a young STONER, EMMA AND GALEN Oklahoma State University, Married Dec. 31, 1970, to: Bonnie Jean Flowers b. Feb. 19, 1950, Computer Op, Archaeologist, Accoun- (2) Connie Lee b. May 30, 1951 (Denver), Radio and Electronics Tech. Married Aug. 21,1976. Debra Jean Hobbie b. June 15, 1958, Homemaker, active in comm affairs. Children: (a) Robyn Kelly b. June 7, 1979 (b) Collin Lee b. November 29, 1980 (c) Apryl Denise b. June 7, 1982. (3) Lenny Ray b. May 25, 1952 (Denver), Radio and Electronics Tech. Served USAF- SAC Cryptology, Comm Married Aug 27, L972 to: Nola May Parker b. July 8, 1952, Degree in Education, teaching, active in sports. Children: (a) Randal Dean b. May 26, 1972 (b) Christopher Lee b. Nov. 23, 1973 (c) Laurie Ranae b. May 12, 1981. (4) Peggy Joyce b. Aug 13, 1953 (Flagler). Masters Deg in Voc and Rehabilitation. Lives in Hawaii (Moloki and Oahu) Works Soc. Services. Married Aug 15, 1975 to: Arthur Patrick Saguid b. Jan 4, 1951 (Oahu, Hi), Masters Deg in Spec Ed Children: (a) Tiani Elena Christina Saguid b. Oct 15, 1982. (5) Kelvin Eugune b. May 23, 1956 (Flagler), Degree in Chemistry, wks & lives in Co. Springs, Co, Chief Chemist, city laboratory. Married on Dec 27, 1980 to: Lucy Alene Shawcroft b. July 8, 1955, Col Grad. Children: (a) Daniel Kelly b. Aug 19, 1983. (b) Thomas Earl b. Nov 4. 1984. (6) Laura Beth b. June 5, 1962 (Flagler), Accounting, Homemaker, Sports Inst. Married Sept 20, 1981 to: Rick Ray Pelton b. Sept 24, 1961, Col Grad, Farming, Mechanic. Children: (a) Tyler Anthony b. Aug 25,L984. by Lyle Stone Emma and Galen Stoner. My parents, Emma and Galen Stoner, moved to Colorado in the spring of 1942 from Morton Co., Kansas, where the Stoners and Milburns were early settlers. The "dirty thirties" had already driven the rest of the Stoners to leave. When Gerald "Jiggs" Halrvard went to the Army, my folks moved to his ranch in Cheyenne County. After my school year was finished in Houghton, Kansas, my father brought me and another load ofthings up that long road north ofFirst View (from which you are supposed to get your first view of Pikes Peak if the atmosphere is just right). I thought that he had brought me to the end of the world when I saw all those miles of green pastures, which have now nearly all been plowed for farming. My parents ran steers on this ranch. Even yet then in the 40's, Dad, with the help of neighbors, drove the steers to First View to load on the train to take to the Kansas Citv market. Dad would ride along in the caboose. I had some contact with Stratton that first summer through one of our neighbors, the Gerald Clines. I came along with the Cline boys, Phillip, Lyle, and Dewaine, to C.E., a youth group at the Evangelical Church which is now the United Methodist. Sometimes we picked up Bernadean Rose and Elsie Leiber on the way. Rev. Kayton was the minister, usually called "preachers" then. As the previous year had been the last year for high school at First Central, we high school students in the Smoky Angel district were given our choice of going to Stratton, Cheyenne Wells, or Kit Carson. Attending Stratton or Cheyenne Wells would have meant living away from home during the week, so we (perhaps we thought we did the choosing) chose Kit Carson. A car load ofus, Faye and Rex Piper, the Clines, Mary Anne Blankenbaker, and John Fleming, would meet a bus on Highway 59 which had picked �up kids north of Mt. Pearl School. Mr. Floyd Mills drove the bus and would drop off the grade school kids at Mt. Pearl and end up with a load of high school students to go into Kit Carson. Since we lived at the end of the line, my sister Carolyn and I spent nearly four hours a day on the bus. Claudine attended grade school at Smoky Angle. These were the rationing times of World War II. School activities of boys' basketball games, band concerts, bond rallies and school plays went on. Sometimes Dad could spare enough gas for us to go to a "picture show", as movies were called then, in Cheyenne Wells. There was a grocery store in First View where Mother got things sometimes, but "trading" was done in Cheyenne Wells or Stratton. It was not unusual for kids to get excused at noon to go buy groceries to bring home on the bus. I worked in a grocery store in Kit Carson for a time after I graduated. People would gather at the store in anticipa- for the Gibson Store chain has kept my brother, Ronald, on the move; at present he and his wife Evelyn and their family Iive in Dodge City, Kansas. He tells of making business calls to the East and having some people think he is playing a joke on them when he tells them to send it to Dodge City. They say, "Oh, there isn't really such a place." I married Leo Kindred, son of Cora and Earl Kindred of south of Stratton. We bought a farm 5% miles south of Bethune from John Robinson twenty-seven years ago and it is still our home. We have a daughter, Carol, who lives at Sterling, Colorado. by Maxine Kindred STORRER, FRED AND HARRIET tion ofthe produce truck's arrival. It doesn't seem that there was ever enough meat or cheese for the ration coupons, people had. It was not an enjoyable time to be a store clerk behind the counter, writing down what F684 neighbors, Dudley Swan and his mother, had fuel but no food. So they moved together that winter. As often stated, no problem came of them living together. It was survival for both. Harriet Storrer's daughter Ella, can remember seeing her shed many tears long after Grandma Swan passed on. In 1917, Mrs. Storrer was taken seriously ill. Her doctor, neighbor, Mr. Storrer and two younger babies took the train to Kansas City. from Topeka to Kansas City, thinking she was dead, but they took her to St. Joseph's customers knowing. When the war was over and Jiggs Hayward returned to the ranch, myparents moved into Stratton and Dad worked at the Coop station for awhile before buying the Tom Kennedy Hospital and after six weeks stay, she came home. After many, many illnesses during her lifetime, they lacked going on three days of celebrating sixty years of marriage together before Harriet Storrer passed away. Fred and Chester have also passed away, Chester before Harriet, and Fred after her. The picture shows Mr. and Mrs. Storrer in front oftheir adobe house in 1944. The other one is Mr. Storrer with the horses that he farm north of Stratton. Even though history books do not make record of the "dirty fifties" as they do the "Dust Bowl thirties", the drought and blowing dirt prevailed throughout eastern Colorado and western Kansas, burying farm buildings and fence to the top wire, and denying farmers their livelihood. Dad worked some at the Stratton Coop shop with Roland Hernbloom, and later as a propane delivery man. He served on the Stratton School Board at the time of the reorganization when the small country schools were closed. As I recall it had to be workgd out with the state to allow the buses to pick up and transport students to the St. Charles Academy before the reorganization was voted in. Mother was always active, helping on the farm, teaching Sunday School, and helping in 4-H. The folks sold their farm in the late fifties and move into Stratton where Dad worked for the Coop. He retired after having a mild enjoyed so. There were many hard times. Crop failures etc., but all in all a good life that brings heart attack in 1969. They became Fred and Harriet Storrer in front of sod home in 1944. friends and loved ones closer together, known only by those who experienced pioneer days. Chester made his home in Denver along with his wife Hazel. Ella also made her home in Denver with her late husband, Henry Lebsack, where they both retired from the railroad. Bill and his family later settled in Golden and Cloyd and his wife, Ruby, and family made his home in Ft. Worth, Texas. Bill Storrer manied Venora Wertz in 1940. Venora was born to Henry Wertz and Mable Sheppard. Henry and Mable were married in 1904, lived in Leoti, Kansas, where they farmed with a team of horses and had a mile to walk to school. If the weather was too bad, they were kept home from school. Henry and Mable had seven children, Vernon, Claude, deceased, Cecil, deceased, Gladys, deceased, Lorraine, Venora, and Earl. Henry and Mable moved in 1936 to Johnstown, Co. with the three younger children. The two older boys moved to Sharon Springs and started farming. In Johnstown is where Venora met Bill Storrer and they got married. Later they moved to Lafayette, where Bill worked for the pleasure of going to Hawaii. We celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1976 at the St. Charles Hall. My father died in 1979, and since then Mother has made her home in Burlington. She enjoys good health and is very active in church and senior citizen activities. Carolyn married Ralph Tryon and they live in Fort Collins, where they own and operate Paramont Laundry and Cleaners. My sister Claudine, is married to Clifford Messenger, son of Earl and Lucy Messenger, and they are presently living in Phoenix. Being a manager to the snow storms. In 1911, it was another hard winter and because of Harriet's sister in Kansas City, they had food, but they had no fuel, and the When arriving in Topeka, Kansas, the doctor informed them Mrs. Storrer had passed on. Another doctor on the train asked to examine her and found a bit of life. Mr. Storrer went people wanted, then getting it from the shelf, and supposing to know which certain customers were to have gome "under the counter" cigarettes added to their sack without other "snowbirds", living in Parker, Arizona in the winter. They had a camper trailer in which they lived and visited relatives during the summer. Most summers they set up the trailer in our back yard on our farm south of Bethune, and Dad would help Leo withwheat harvest. They took a number of trips and had Fred Storrer and Harriet Johnson were married in Kansas City, Mo. August 22,L906. In 1909, they homesteaded south of Bethune, in the WVz of Sec. 28, Range 11, Township 45. To this union four children were born: Chester, William, Cloyd and Ella. Fred came ahead and built a one room sod house and then met Harriet and they could only make it to Billy Lang's place where they had to stay for three days, at which time the cowboys were coming there for refuge. It was a sad time as people were losing livestock due Fred Storrer with his horses in 1944. International Harvester. They moved to Denver in 1941, where their first of many daughters was born. Shirley was born in 1941, is married to Milo Mcllhargey, and they live in Nampa, Idaho, and have five children, Jim, Pam, Bill, Tracy and Scott, and three grandchildren. Bill, Venora and Shirley moved to the farm south of Bethune (the Storrer homestead) and started farming with �Fred Storrer in 1945. This was the year that their second daughter was born. Linda was born in Stratton, where she now lives with her husband Bill Swanson, and they have three children, Darla, Mitchell, and Wendi. In 1948, Bill and Venora moved to the Ayers farm where Bill still farmed with his folks until they retired and moved to Denver. In 1951, number three daughter Betty was born in Goodland, Kans. Betty lives in Golden and has a daughter Veronica and twin daughters, Tabatha, and Tonya. On the farm, Bill and Venora spent winter nights making chili and playing pinochle with the neighbors, and having branding days or getting together to clean chickens, hunting, baseball games or fishing at Bonny Dam, and Iots of fish fries. Vicki, daughter number four, was born in 1960 in Burlington. She now lives in Golden with her husband, Doug Wheeler, and son John. Bill bought the old Chapman garage in Bethune, called it the Hiway Garage, where he ran it until 1963 when he moved to Denver. In 1964, a son (finally) was born to them. Lee Fredrick Storrer lives in Golden where he is a plumber. Bill is now retired from Jefco County. Cloyd Storrer and his wife Ruby have three daughters, EIla Jean, married with two boys and one girl, Judy, married and has one boy and one girl, and Joy, married and has two children. by Linda Swanson STRICK FAMILY Furniture Store, located on the end of Main Street, for about five years. He then started working for Hinkhouse Bros. and after twenty-one years is still working for Bill. After moving to Burlington, I worked for a while as a waitress in the Montezuma Hotel Restaurant. After our son, Richard Anthony, was born in 1963, I then worked at the Grace Manor Nursing Home. Then I decided to stay home and care for children of other working mothers. It is now over nineteen years later and I still have a Licensed Day Care Home. During this time our youngest daughter, Letha Josephine, was born in November of 1968. All three of our children attended and graduated from the Burlington Schools. Now Cindy with husband Bob Peter, and children Robert and Stephanie, work and live in Greeley, Colorado. Rich, after going to the University of Northern Colorado (U.N.C.) in Greeley for three years, still lives and works there. Letha Jo works and lives in Aurora, Colorado. Pete and I plan to just enjoy ourselves, our kids, and our grandkids for the rest of our lives. by Dorothy Strick STROBEL FAMILY F686 Germans From Russia F685 I am writing this story in Burlington in April 1980, for the benefit ofour children and relatives that are interested in the history of our relatives from Russia. Ninety-five years ago this spring, my father, Jacob; his older brother, Christian; and a younger brother, John; Ieft Russia for the United States of America. They came with their Uncle Phillip Breitling, uncle by marriage, and his family. Having lived near the Black Sea area, they left Russia and settled in Scotland, South Dakota. Because of financial problems, my grandfather, Jacob Sr.; a son, Gottlob; and a daughter, Carolina; stayed behind in Russia with three married Pete and Dorothy Strick and family Peter Anthony Strick was the eighth of ten children born to Tony and Josephine Strick daughters, Christina Gramm, Gottlebina Lucas, and Kathrine Haas. After aniving at Scotland, Dad and his brother hired out to farmers. Chris, being the oldest, received $100.00 per year; Dad, being 17 years old, ofKirk, Colorado. Pete grew up and attended school in the Kirk community. Dorothy Ann Marshall was the seventh of nine children born to William (Bud) and Letha Marshall of Cope, Colorado. Dorothy attended country schools until the community consolidated and then finished grade and high school at Cope. Pete and Dorothy were married in 1959 and after several moves in the first two years, we moved to Burlington in the fall of 1961. Our first home in Burlington was a basement received $90.00 and John, the youngest, received $80.00. After one and one half years, the brothers saved enough money to help their father financially, so that in the fall of old. In 1962 we bought our present home on 356 8th Street. Of course, in all these years we have added a lot of improvements to our home. At one point we had it practically In the spring of 1890, a number of families decided to come to Colorado to file on apartment on 18th Street. At that time our oldest daughter, Cynthia Ann, was one year rebuilt. When first moving to Burlington, Pete worked a few months for Charly Sholes Construction Co. He then worked for Neils 1887, my grandfather and the two unmarried children left Russia and came to America, also settling in Scotland, South Dakota. The next three years the Strobels worked on farms and in other businesses. Chris operated a creamery that used a steam engine to furnish power to run its machinery. My father collected the cream from farmers in the vicinity of Scotland three times a week and delivered it to his brother's creilnery. homesteads. These families came as far as St. Francis, Kansas, because this was as far as the railroad had been built. (This taken from the Weekly Reuiew, March 6, 1890, St. Francis, Ks.: "A special train came in Sunday and one coach was loaded with Russians and Mon- day's freight brought in several carloads of stock and goods. They numbered about 75 persons in all, and we learn that their destination is near Landsman, Colorado. They, at present are located at Dr. Water- man's old drug store building and are preparing to move. We are sorry they are going so far from our city, for that class of citizens always makes successful farmers. They are from Scotland, South Dakota and state that the reason for leaving that area was on account of the cold weather. One of them says they have to feed their cattle and livestock from Oct. 1, to May 20. They will find quite a change in that respect, for in this country stock hardly require shelter at all.") From St. Francis they came by wagon to the vicinity of Yale, Colorado which was approximately 18 miles northwest of Burlington. When this part of Kit Carson County was settled, most of the people were of German descent. They settled in an area approximately 1 mile square. This community became known as the Settlement. These people had a deep reverence for God and had a desire to worship God. They held Sunday worship services in their homes until about 1892 when they organized and built a church out of native sandstone. The church known as Rock Church, which was the beginning of the Emmanuel Lutheran Church. My parents were members of this church. However. in 1911 a new church organization came into being, The German Congregational Church. A building was erected and called the Hope Congregational Church. My parents then became members of this church. Dad attended the Congregational Church while in Scotland, S.D., and this was one of the reasons for joining the new church. These two churches contributed much to the spiritual aspect of life in this community. Both churches are still active at this time. Here grandfather, Chris and my father, each filed homesteads. which consisted of one-fourth section ofland or 160 acres. They tried to make a living on these homesteads, but because of drought and sometimes hail, they were unable to make ends meet. Therefore my father went to Denver in the fall of 1890, and worked in a smelter until spring and then tried farming during the summer. One winter he worked on a dairy called London Dairy which was located a mile north of the present Stapleton International Airport. My father's job was to take care of the horses that were used to pull the milk wagons that delivered the milk to the residents of Denver. Because my father was a lover of horses, he would get up at 2 o'clock in the morning, feed, curry comb, harness and hitch up the horses to the milk wagons so that they were ready to go at 4 o'clock. Then the drivers of the milk wagons would take off for Denver and return at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, when again my father would take care ofthe horses. Dad received 925.00 plus room and board per month on this job. One fall, dad hauled silver ore from a mine near Montezuma, Colo. to the railroad station. From there it was transported to the smelter in Denver. On Jan. 6, 1893, my father was married to Katerina Dobler. (The Doblers c'me to Colorado the same time the Strobels did.) In 1894, after Theodore, my oldest brother, was a few months old, Dad and mother went to Denver one more time. Dad worked in the �smelter again along with his brother, John. Mother and uncle John's wife kept house in the apartment they rented and picked strawberries in their spare time. In the spring of 1895, when they were ready to return to the farm north of Bethune, uncle Andrew Baltzer, who had also gone to Denver to work, offered my folks his team and wagon for their transportation home, because he could stay and work a month or two more. It took the folks three days to get home. After that farming got to be better and dad and mother had accumulated a small herd of cattle, also raising some corn and wheat. In 1913, the folks raised their first good winter wheat crop and thereafter wheat crops were usually quite good until about 1931-1932 unless it was attacked by smut. Wheat for seed had to be treated for smut, a fungus which made the kernels turn black and useless. I knew of two treatments for smut: house and the water for the tank in the corral where animals watered. We were the first family to have running water and a bath tub in the house in the settlement. The first light plant in the settlement was installed by the John Ziegler family (parents of my wife Magdalena,) in 1917. In 1918, we purchased our first light plant, a 32 volt battery set. Up to this time our only source of light was the Kerosene lamp. Our brother John, who was mechanically inclined, set up the plant, and did the electrical wiring of the house and out buildings. At that time, mother got an electric double tub washing machine. We also put an electric motor on our cream separator. Up until then they were all powered by hand. In 1925, we bought our first truck, a one was a formaldehyde and water solution Chevrolet 1 ton, complete with box and a wood cab, for $840.00. With it we could haul 65 bushels of grain, compared to 55 to 60 hauled by wagon and two horses. If a triple and the other a copper sulphate and water solution. We used the formaldehyde solution with very good results. Early seeding also bu., and pulled it by four horses. It took approximately 12 hours for a round trip to helped the problem. After we started to summer fallow, we seeded earlier and the smut treatments could be discontinued. by Albert Strobel STROBEL FAMILY F687 German Children The names of the children of Jacob and Katerina Strobel are as follows: Theodore, Nov.4, 1893; Emma, Aug. 10, 1896; John, Jan. 6, 1899; Albert, July 26, 1904, and Emil, Dec. 2, 1908. Until 1921, our sole power was horses. They did all the field work and the transporting of wheat and other commodities such as butter, cream, and eggs to market. Sometimes dad would butcher hogs and deliver the carcasges to town. In 1915 on July 4th, we bought our first car, a model T Ford, which made traveling to town much easier and faster. We would buy our gas in 55 gallon barrels for 11 cents per gallon. The cost of our first car was $545.00. The Ford Motor Company made a statement that if it would sell a half million cars in 1915, it would refund $50.00 to each customer. Ford box was used we could haul between 75 to 80 Burlington. We harvested our wheat with a header pulled or rather pushed by six horses. The header would elevate the cut wheat straw into a header box 8'x 16'mounted on awagon and pulled by two horses. After the header was full, it was unloaded by hand and the wheat stacked into stacks. About a month or two later, a threshing machine would come hauled by horses and wagon from five to eight miles away. Later in the 1920's we hauled ice with our truck. In 1928, dad bought a Willis tractor, which pulled a three row lister or a three or four bottom plow. This made the farming easier. In about 1929, the depression hit our part of the country. During the depression, the price on corn was as low as 12 cents per bushel, wheat 25 cents per bushel, two year springer heifers $12.00 to 15.00 per head,40 to 50 test cream 5 gallons for $2.00, and eggs as low as 4 cents per dozen. These are some of the things I vividly remember. The drought commonly called the dirty thirties, also started about that time and lasted until about 1938, when we started raising more corn and wheat again. At that time people started to summer fallow for wheat which made a big difference in the yields. Continuous cropping yields were from 12 to 15 bu., where summer fallow yields were from 30 to 40 bu. per acre. My brother Emil, and I bought two second hand combines, in 1943, one a 12' Baldwin and the other a 10' International Harvester. However the grain was still unloaded by hand into the granary and then again loaded by hand to be taken to market. approximately 50 to 60 bu. of corn per day if he worked from ten to twelve hours. Then later, the corn was shelled with a corn sheller. Later in about 1945, Henry Daum, an elevator man in Bethune, came up with an auger elevator, ten feet long and five inches in diameter. This elevator was driven by a one and one half horse gas engine, which moved the grain more easily. On April 25, 1931, just before the drought and dust bowl years, Lena Zeigler and I were married. We had a rough time during the 30's. We have six children: Arnold, April 26, 1932; Viola, Dec. 17, 1933; Alvin and Calvin, Jan. 21, 1936; Arthur, Jan.22,1941; and Roland, Feb. 21, 1942. We always had enough to eat as we raised our own very: potatoes, squash, and plenty of watermelon, along with cream, butter, milk and eggs. In 1923, we received over 20 inches of rainfall and therefore, had 150 acres ofcorn thatyear by Albert Strobel into the vicinity which was powered by a steam engine. It took about 12 men to make up a threshing crew. The crew consisted of one separator man, one engineer, one water- man, from four to six pitches, (who put the straw in the machine), two grain haulers, and two cooks to feed the crew. Harvesting corn was done by hand. It was husked and thrown or tossed into a wagon pulled by two horses. It was then hauled to cribs and unloaded or piled in long piles. One man could pick and the average yield was 35 bushels per acre. John, Emil, and I bought a used corn sheller from Granville Hutton. We reconditioned it and did custom shelling for three years. We charged two cents for husked corn and five cents for snapped corn per bushel. The cobs were used for fuel along with cow chips and coal. The later we could buy for $8.00 to passed the half million car mark and dad received a refund of $50.00. Dad bought his first car from Griffith Davis, the Ford dealer. In 1921, dad bought our first tractor, a $10.00 per ton. In about 1940, dad and mother, Emil and we ourselves, each bought our first propane gas ranges, which made cooking and baking much easier. comparison to the later models. However, it relieved the horses from a lot of work. Around 1916, dad and mother built a new house. The material used for the walls was adobe about 18 inches thick. The outside was covered with tongue and groove drop siding and painted. The house included the following rooms: kitchen, dining room, front room or parlor as it was called at the time, three bedrooms, another room for a pantry and a bathroom. In 1917, dad put running water to the house and corral. Water at that time was pumped by windmill into a 5'x 7'supply tank which was put into the top of a 10' x 10' hexagonal building. The supply tank was 10 feet off the ground and provided running water for the by Albert Strobel Titan 10-20. It was a clumsy machine in butter from spoiling. We also used it to make good old homemade ice cream. The ice was STROBEL - DOBLER FAMILY F689 My parents, Jacob Strobel and Katherina Dobler were born and raised in Russia in villages some 50 miles inland from Odessa, a port in the Black Sea. Their ancestors immigrated from Germany about 1810, and thus spoke German, and never Russian. They came by covered wagons by way of Poland where they had to spend the winter. My STROBEL FAMILY F688 There wasn't much leisure time. However in the winter. we would hunt rabbits and prairie chickens. Sometimes we would go ice skating at the two small dams along the Republican river. One was located by the Rosser Davis ranch and the other at the Sherman Corliss ranch. In the winter we would get ice from the above ponds or dams and store it in ice cellars or caves to be used in the summer to keep meats and milk and great-grandfather was born there that winter. In the spring they resumed their journey to the Black Sea area, which was all virgin prairie. Those that survived endured many hardships. Villages were finally established and the prairies plowed and began growing wheat and other grains. The srrrplus they hauled by wagon to Odessa and sold and exchanged for other goods they needed. Cattle, swine, poultry and sheep were also raised. The wool from the sheep was all home spun and woven into fabrics for clothing, etc. In the year 1885, when my father was 17 years old, he and an older and a younger �& there was no well at the new homestead, they had to bring water in barrels for the horses from the first farm home. Later that year my father had a well put down and a windmill erected. It was not until 1913 that Dad had his first good wheat crop. That spring his older brother Chris sold out and moved his family to N. Dak. Brother Theo went along with his uncle, but after a year or so felt called to the Christian Ministrv and enrolled in Redfield Seminary, S. Dak. From before the turn of the century and a decade into the 1900, churches and schools were built in this vicinity north west of Burlington in which my father took an active part. Before the churches were built, worship services were conducted in my Grandfather Dobler's farm home. My brother Theo and Bill Dobler were the first to go on to higher education, beyond the 8th grade. Brother Threshing grain sorgum with corrugated threshing rock on Jacob Strobel farm about 1928. Grandfather Dobler rented a farm house near Scotland to house his family of 8 children. The older children worked for farmers in the area and other businesses. Grandfather Dob- ler managed a grain elevator in Scotland. In 1890 both the Strobel and Dobler families came to Colorado after hearing that homesteads were available here in Kit Carson County, and also the climate was milder. Here again the land was all virgin prairie. My father along with others, came from the Dakotas by train to St. Francis, Kansas, where the railroad ended, and from there with horses and wagons to the Yale area some 18 miles northwest of Burlington. They worked for ranchers along the Republican River, but especially at the Cox Ranch (the now McArthur Ranch). My father helped dress native rock to build the ranch house, dated 1898;, also the barns and rock walls for corrals. My father also worked in Denver digging ditches for water lines etc; at the Globe Smelter, and then hauled ore by wagon from mines in the Montezuma area west of Denver. Street cars were then drawn by a Jacob and Katherina Strobel on their 50th Wed- ding Anniversary. January 8, 1943. brother along with an uncle and family left Russia and came to America. An eight day boat ride on a German built ship and manned by mostly German sailors, so they could at Ieast converse in their native tongue. They landed on Ellis Island, where the U.S. government maintained an emmigration station, near Liberty Island - site of Statue of Liberty. (The Statue of Liberty was unveiled the following Oct, 1886). From there they traveled by train to Scotland, S.D. where they worked for farmers in the area. It took them over a year to earn and save enough money so they could help their father and remaining family come to America also. About the same time the Christian Dobler family had come to America. My mother often related that they were on board ship over the Christmas and New Year holidays, and took 19 days from Bremerhaven to New York, as they encountered stormy seas. They settled in Scotland, S.D. area also. This is where my father and mother first met, and never in the old country. My horse and had a place where the horse could stand when the car would coast down hill. My father and mother were married Jan. 8, 1893, as were my mother's sister Christina and Pete Knodel, double wedding. That fall in November my oldest brother Theodore was born and to better support his new family, Dad again went to Denver the next spring and took along his wife and new son. This time he worked at the London Dairy, headquarters werejust north ofthe Stapleton Airport. They milked about 200 cows on an average, but my father was the hostler and cared for the horses that were used to deliver the bottled milk to Denver and bring bran, etc. for the dairy cows: also alfalfa haying along 1st creek where he was the stacker. My father finally homesteaded in the year 1906, north and west of Bethune. I am the youngest in the family and was born on the new homestead, Dec. 1908. My older three brothers, Theo, John and Albert and sister Emma (Mrs. Jake Schaal) were born where my parents lived for about 15 years, about 6 miles S.E. of the new homestead, but never obtained title to the land. The new homestead was all buffalo and gramma sod. So that spring of 1906, Dad and brother Theo plowed about 20 acres with walking plows and prepared it to plant corn and feed, and, as Theo served churches in Colorado and Dakotas and on the west coast for 50 years, the last 10 as interim pastor. Bill taught in schools around the state until he retired. I attended Prairie View School Dist #22 and graduated from the eighth grade in 1924. Brothers John and Albert also attended Prairie View School through the eighth grade; my oldest brother Theo and sister Emma, about through the sixth grade. We boys continued farming the original homestead and other land my parents had acquired before they retired; each ofus boys got 2 quarters to begin farming. Sister Emma received equivalent in cash and livestock. She married Jake Schaal in 1921. In 1986 she had a fatal accident when she attempted to kindle a fire in the cook stove with tractor fuel and the can exploded. Brother Theo married his school mate at college the same year, lg2L. Brother John married Margaret Weisshaar in 1927. In 1936 they went to Calif. where he worked at construction, concrete and carpentry. Albert and I married sisters, Lena and Anna Ziegler in 1931 and 1933 respectively. Albert and I remained through the depression and dust bowl years of the thirties. The ensuing years also had their ups and downs, but as deep well irrigation developed over the years and crops and feed for livestock became more stable, the economy was boosted consi- derably. However, the considerable drop of the water table due to the deep well irrigation poses problems as well and will require prudent management of our natural resources. Hopefully all who use and benefit from the use of these resources, directly or indirectly, will be willing to help conserve them for future generations. by Emil J. Strobel STROBEL - DOBLER FAMILY F690 In 1885 my grandparents, the Jacob Strobel Sr. and the Christian Dobler families came to America from Russia and settled in Scotland, South Dakota. Each family had 8 children and they worked mostly on farms. The Jacob Strobel Sr. family consisted of Katherine (Haas), Christina (Gramm), Gottliebena (Lukas), Christian, Jacob (my father), John, Gottlieb, and Carolina (Baltzer). The Christian Dobler family consisted of �electric lights which were run by a flywheel generator so when you came to corners or slowed down you had to race the motor to be llt.af r:l:ri lii:l i:r, ,r:,r,. .,,,1 able to see. The dash and tail-lights were kerosene which you had to light with a match when it got dark. My first ride in an auto, however, was in 1909 in an International with solid rubber tired buggy wheels and goggles had to be put on because there was no windshield and we were going the amazing speed of 15 m.p.h. Jacob Strobel plowing to plant potatoes with Prince and Jim. Spring 1928. Dora (Strobel), Christina (Knodel), Kather- ine (my mother) Strobel, John, Theresa (Leupp) Christian, Mary (Stahlecker) and Leopold. In 1890, after the Rock Island R.R. was built through Kit Carson County and homesteads were available, a number of families loaded their meager belongings, livestock and furniture in railroad cars and arrived in St. Francis, Kansas. From there they loaded wagons and came to the vicinity of Yale Post Office (later Sam Schaals farm) about 14 miles north of Burlington. It was known as the Russian-German settlement. My father, Jacob Strobel Jr. homesteaded S.E. rA L4-745 but never took out the patent or proof of it. Grandfather Strobel Sr. homesteaded just north of our Dad. Because of the drought, grasshoppers, etc. it was hard to make a living so many including Dad went to Denver to work on a dairy farm and sent his wages of $25 per month home for the others to live on. This was in 1891. Later he worked in a silver ore smelter for $2.50 per 12 hour shift. In 1893 Jacob Strobel married Katherine Dobler and built a house about 16'x 26'with sandstone. sod roof and wall to wall mud floor. My mother would go over the floor once a month or so with a thin mixture of yellow clay and wheat chaff which made the floor real hard. They put down a well but no windmill so had to draw water by windlass. (160'deep and the bucket held 7 gallons). This took a long time to water 10 or more cows and horses. Theodore. their first child was born in 1893. In 1896 Emma Strobel was born and manied Jake Schaal in 1921. I, John Strobel was born in 1899 and married Margaret Weisshaar in L92l .In 1904 Albert was born and married Lena Zeigler in 1931. In 1908, when Emil Strobel was born, there was a big snow storm with about 2 feet of snow and no help could get through so my Dad was the midwife with help from our L2 year old sister Emma. Emil married Anna Zeigler in 1933. My first recollections were in 1903 when Jacob Strobel Sr. (my grandfather) would go to Burlington with eggs and butter in exchange for groceries in a t horse-top buggy and usually brought us each a small piece of candy which we eagerly awaited. We had a large lake just south of our farm. John and Bill Wahl who lived 1 mile southwest and farmed ground north of us would haul their feed past the lake. One would get off the wagon and we would see a big black cloud of smoke because they used black powder. Then there was a big bang and thousands of ducks would rise. That was the time of Ducks Unlimited!In 1906 John Wahl was killed by lightning. Bill Wahl married Katy Adolf (A.W. Adolfs sister). In 1904 Dad added another room and wooden floors in all the house. Later that same year, we, Mother, Albert and I, went by train to Denver to visit Mother's brother Chris Dobler, wife Sophie and son Art. Enough money was had by then to buy a new 2 seater spring-buggy and a new Delavel cream separator. In 1906 because there was not enough land to farm and pasture on 160 acres, our Dad homesteaded a quarter (S.8. % 7-7-45) about 5 miles northwest of our farm with open range to the Republican River. There were problems with loco weed and the cattle and horses would eat it and become almost worthless. A week before Christmas in 1906 we moved to the new homestead and in 1907 built a new 24 x 50 adobe barn which is still used today by my nephew Leland Strobel and wife Lee. It was a dry year in 1908 and Dad cut about 35 loads of russian thistles for feed. Other feed should have been mixed with it but there was little to be had. Until 1912 we had only implements of a walking plow, Iister, harrow and cultivator. We used a threshstone which was cut out of rock and had a corrugated surface about 3'wide and 22" high. This was pulled by 2 horses over a circle of grain on the ground. All the wheat, millet and beans etc. were threshed in this manner. Dad would then winow it in the evening wind to separate the chaff from the grain. In 1912 we bought our first John Deere gang plow for 955, a McCormick 5'mower for 945 and McCormick rake for $37. Plowed about 35 acres for fall wheat and sowed about 30 acres of wheat between corn rows with a l-horse drill. So in 1913 we had our first good wheat crop getting about 1500 bushels. Ernest and Carl Fisher threshed it for us. The price of wheat was 700 a bu. but with the European War, the price later went up over $3 a bushel. Then the government pegged the price at $1.90 for a number of years. Dad bought a new Ford for $545 in 1915. It had In 1914, my brother Theodore went to Redfield College in South Dakota to study for the ministry. In the fall of L922 I bought a Harley Davidson motorcycle and went to California to visit relatives. West of the Rockies there were no roads, only ruts and old railroad beds. In Salt Lake I found that roads were still worse going west so I crated my motorcycle and shipped it ahead to Lodi and I continued on by train. I did construction work for 4 years returning home each summer except 1 for the harvest. During the fall of 1923 Christian Dobler (my grandfather) was killed by a bull while bringing home the milk cows. I returned to Colorado in 1926 and built a small house and other buildings and in December 1927 married Margaret Weisshaar (daughter of Joseph and Margaret (Schaal) Weisshaar). In 1928 my cousin Emil Strobel from Lodi and I decided to have a carload of fine Calif. grapes shipped by rail in an iced car to Colo. to sell at the county fair. However, they got delayed and didn't arrive until a week after when folks had bought most of their supply. The cost ofthis adventure was $1565. The ice got low so had to buy more and after a week only sold half. We sent the car back to Denver where a fruit dealer bought them all. Our getrich scheme got us enough to pay for the grapes, freight and an extra $100 for Emil. I got enough for the gas going back and forth. No money maker after all but a good experience. "Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only more intelligently." Then followed the 1929 crash, depression years and the dust storms. In 1934 the government destroyed 12 ofour cattle because ofthe lack of feed. For this we were paid $174. In 1936 our only child Esther was born and left for Calif. again with my parents Jacob and Katherine Strobel but then returned within a week because of the death of my sister Emma Schaal who died in a fire. We returned once more to Calif. and built a house trailer and I worked for a construction co. We always had our house with us when we traveled. We built our present home in 1941. From our hillside we can see the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco. I worked 30 years in construction which took us all around California, Nevada and Hawaii. In 1969 we went to Europe for three months to visit all the relatives on both sides who did not venture to America. In 1956 our daughter Esther was married to Stanley Wethern and they have 4 children, Stephen (married to Jeannine Zukoski), James, Karen and Kathy. I have been retired about 20 years and Margaret and I come back to the old farm and community whenever possible. As I celebrate my 87th birthday today, I think of the wonderful miracles and inventions that have been developed in my lifetime from horsepower to space travel. We live in the present, we dream of the future and we �:/|l.t learn truths from the past for in youth we it learn and in age we understand. :at by John L. Strobel STRODE, WILL ff ,ri' ,:::rrt: ;. t a F69r Mr. and Mrs. Will Strode were both among the early homesteaders of eastern Colorado. Mr. Strode, who passed away Jan. 15, 1965 at the age of 89, came to Colorado with his parents in 1886, when he was 11 years old. The family lived along the Republican River, not far from the Crystal Springs Ranch. Mrs. Strode's father came to Colo. in 1887. He came from Seward, Nebr. to Cheyenne Wells. He then walked from Cheyenne Wells to Flagler seeking a location for his family. He met Will Strode's father who helped him file on a homestead about 17 mi. N. of Flagler. His wife and daughter (Mrs. Will Strode who was then 5 years old) and son Frank, 3, came by train from Seward to Akron, where he met them. Mrs. Strode recalls many early-day experiences. The family came to town only once a month, bringing a load of grain and taking back provisions. Mrs. Strode and her mother would frequently walk to Arickaree and back for the mail, the round-trip being 10 miles. When Mrs. Strode's brother was small, they would take him along in a small "express wagon." Mrs, Strode's parents, Mr. and Mrs. L.J. Neff and their family moved to Flagler in 1901 and lived for several years in the house that is now standing, just north of the library. Mr. and Mrs. Will Strode were married there in 1902. L.J. Neff was a brother of Dr. Oscar S. Neff who was one of the pioneer doctors of eastern Colorado. by Janice Salmans STUTZ, FREDERICK FAMILY F692 Great grandmother Baltzer (Dorothy Sattler) came from Grosz Liebetal. Both Grand- father Frederick Stutz and Grandmother Maria Baltzer Stutz were born at Plotsk, Bessarabia. The family resided at this village except for one short stay at Mareslienfeld, in the same province. In November of 1889, the family traveled to Odessa, having gone by horse and wagon, staying overnight at Ackerman with relatives, and ferried over the widened mouth of the river. Grandmother Stutz became very ill as the family travelled by train through Austria and Germany. After passing through Berlin, they arrived at Bremen. From here they sailed for America aboard the steamship, "Saale", landing in New York after 9 days on the ocean. This was in the latter part of November. They moved to Scotland, Dakota Territory, only remaining about a month, before moving on to Colorado along with the other group that was also headed in that direction. Crist and Jacob Strobel. Otto Winter, Frederick Stutz (our grandfather), Christ Baltzer, August Adolf, Sr., Christian Grandma and Grandpa Stutz, Martha, Nettie and William, Grandma Doblers people. Dobler (our dad's family), John schaal, and Matthew Hefner were in the group. In the spring of 1897 the Stutz family travelled back to Scotland, Dakota Territory, after being in the area for a short time. They travelled 3 weeks, using horses instead of oxen. Following a 1 year stay, they returned to Colorado, again by covered wagon, when Grandfather Stutz suffered an eye ailment which threatened blindness for him if they remained in the Dakota climate. Our mother, Magdalena and her older brother drove the cattle. They crossed the Missouri River on the ferry at "Running Water" both trips. The trip back to Colorado again took 3 weeks. The cattle were shipped via rail and Frederick Stutz, an older son, accompanied the cattle. William Stutz, born Sept. 8, 1898, was just 2 weeks old when they began the trip. They arrived at their Colorado home in the middle of October, 1898. They spent the winter with the Andrew Baltzer family, which was located just east of Immanuel Lutheran Church north of Bethune. Grandfather Stutz worked for the ranchers along the Republican River for 25 cents per day. The family consisted of Frederick (who died at age 2t), Maria, Ida (who died in infancy), Ida, Edmma, Lydia, Wilhelmina, Magdalena, Annetta (who died at age 15), and Martha. Grandparents Stutz passed away in 1928 and 1929, respectively. by Art Dobler STUTZ, WILLIAM F693 I will try and say a few things about the early days. I was born in Scotland, South Dakota, September 8, 1898. My folks were Fredrich and Maria Stutz. Shortly after I was born my folks picked up what little they had and set out for Colorado in a covered wagon. It took three weeks to make the trip. They homesteaded eight miles north of Bethune, Colorado. We were at the south end of "the settlement;" from there to the Rock Island Railroad it was all open range. There were lots of cattle and horses that were owned by a few ranchers. My folks made their home on this open prairie. There were only a few antelope around, no buildings, houses or barns. I remember the first sod house we lived in. It had a dirt floor, but it was home. There was a dug well in the Landsman River two miles east of our place; that is where my folks hauled their water from with banels. There was no wood in that country so the only fuel was cow chips. I remember we had to go out and pick them up by the wagon loads and haul them home for the winter fuel supply. To go to Burlington or Stratton was, "as the crow flies" about 14 miles either way, no square corners. After dark or in a snow storm it was very easy to get lost. As I grew up I remember walking the wooden sidewalks in Burlington. Also, you couldn't just go to the store and buy a bottle of milk or a loaf or bread. In about 1906 my folks built an adobe house with a shingle roof and wooden floor. Going to school was not in heated cars, it was all on foot. Most kids had to walk two miles or more. The teachers did their own janitorial work and they were paid $35.00 a month for everything. In about 1908 or 1910 a lot of homesteaders settled in this country; they lived in frame shacks and hillside dug outs. I went to school with a lot of their children as long as they could stay. They didn't have enough clothes or shoes and some of them nearly froze to death but they still walked to school. There was no government help, no food stamps, you were on your own. A lot of the people had to leave or else they would starve, but a few stayed. Like I said we walked two miles to school but later on we got a school only one mile from home. I got my daily jogging in from home to school, I got to the point where I couJd run the full mile to school. My good wife and myself both graduated from adobe schools. We did our milking in the corral, there was no fancy milk barn. The cream had to be skimmed by hand and churned to butter. Some of the butter was molded in one pound �tl of the corn stalks. The weeds wouldn't even sprout. In 1933 I sent some hogs to Denver. Good hogs brought $2.25 per hundred. In 1934 I sold my cattle to the government for $12.50 per head. In 1935 there was no feed and the grass had all blown away so we had an auction and sold what was left on the farm. We went to Elizabeth, Colorado in 1935 and to Denver, Colorado in 1937, then the war started. We made our home in Denver but things were not good in the city either. If you could get a job they usually paid about 30 cents per hour. Thanks to the good Lord for providing us with food and clothes and our menu which was beans and bacon rind. I worked on government buildings doing heavy construc- tion like building hangers. Later on I went back into the livestock business which I enjoyed. I had a brokers license which meant I could buy and sell This is our farm home where the Stutz family grew up about 1916. anything in livestock. I handled thousands of head of cattle, hogs, sheep, horses and even a few goats. I stayed with that until the Denver Stockyards closed. I went to LaJunta, Pueblo and Salida every week and a lot of times to Stratton. My good wife worked in green houses for over thirty years. We have enjoyed our years in Denver after all the bad years we had. We raised a family of three boys and two girls, they all have their families and their own homes now. remember my dad went to Burlington several times for feed. He would come back with maybe one sack ofcorn and three bails ofhay. Later on our family got a buggy and that made things a little easier. Then in 1913 and 1914 a few autos and steamers showed up and I got to ride in some of them. When the Model T came along my family got their first one in 1915. From 1916 crops got better and things went along pretty good, but the slump started in 1929. If you think times are bad now stop The Stutz farnily ready to go to church in 1913. and think what our folks went through. I left the farm in 1919 and worked for the Bethune Lumber Company. I got into the grocery business for a few years after that. When I left the grocery business I became manager of the Bethune Lumber Company for several years. We had a good baseball team in Bethune. I was the second mayor of Bethune and member of the school board. We got the town water works in and a few sidewalks built. I was also on District 24's school board while I was on the farm until the time we left. After I left the Bethune Lumber Company, I started buying hogs in Bethune. There were lots of hogs in the country at that time. I bought from one to three carloads a week. Most of them were hauled in wagons and I shipped them to Pueblo and Denver. All I took my two youngest sisters and the teacher to school. The teacher, Lea Wellman of Stratton, took the photo about 1912. cubes and sold at the grocery store. I remember my folks had a wooden churn in a frame with a crank on it. Later the cream stations started up. That helped, because then we could sell the cream. As I grew up things changed a lot. We made our living by selling cream and eggs. We had our dry years when we were not able to raise any feed. In 1911 and 1912 we had a lot of snow and everyone had to use sleds. I the shipping was done by rail at that time. I bought two car loads that were driven in on foot. One load came from 1 7z miles northwest of town from Mr. Negus and one load from Mr. Ardueser I % miles south of town. I played the saxaphone with the Burlington We have been retired for several years now. We now make our home in Denver, Colorado. by William (Bill) Stutz, age 89 SUTTON FAMILY F694 I Remember, Sutton In recounting the many events, people and locations while putting together this history, I've revisited a period of my life that was most receptive and sensitive. Growing up in Flagler, the second daughter in a family of six children was a happy time. You might keep in mind that my "I remembers" in certain areas are surely shaded with the vagarities of childhood and years, but I have tried to "remember" with fact. My mother, Mary Emma Sutton, in 1983 celebrated her ninety-first birthday in Flagler, the beloved town she called home for most of her years. In 1907, my father, Willie (Bill) Sutton, homesteaded about six miles south of the Kipling Railroad Crossing. I believe the W.H. Lavington ranch bordered dad's property on the south. From Athens, Ohio, dad came west seeking better climate and adventure. As a young man, dad had worked in a flour mill in Hume, Missouri for an uncle, was an band. apprenticed barber, and for a time was a street car conductor in Kansas City, Mis- and in 1929 we moved back to the farm and everything was pretty steady. Prices on grain and livestock started up. By 1930, however, everything went lower. The prices of cattle and hogs started coming down. This was the time of the dirty thirties, the wind blew and there was no rain. 1932 and 1933 were worse and the dust bowl came in 1934. The wind was so hot and dry that even the leaves blew off souri. In Athens, Ohio he had traveled with In 1927 I married Alvina Schlichenmayer a doctor learning a great deal of country doctoring. Wanderlust caught him early in life. Grandmother Blakely said of dad: "He used to disappear regularly from home. When I wanted to find him, I'd go over the state line into Kentucky, call at a few horse ranches, and I'd find him at one of them." On one trip, grandmother recalled, "I discovered Willie �dinner cook, and Mike Conarty was the fry cook. We lived in a white house across the alley east of the cafe. Dad was a charter member of the Odd Fellow Lodge; he had joined in Ohio. He had a shaving mug made in Kansas City, Missouri in 1905 with his name and the three gold link emblem of the Lodge on it. He invited John Verhoefftojoin the Lodge, and John received his 50 year pin a few years before he died. Many of mom and dad's family eventually moved from the Flagler area and they adopted Gene and Mattie Ellsworth as family. They had homesteaded south of Seibert in the early 1900s. We children called Gene and Mattie uncle and aunt (as did manv in the community). Their sod house was buili with two foot thick walls, with an east and south window, a door in the south side awav from the elements. The floor was dirt, packei until it seemed to be cement. Aunt Mattie had rag rugs which she had braided on this floor. The soddie was as clean as a pin. To the north of the soddie they had a two room frame house. The furnishings in this little house were lovely - all the "treasures" Mattie had brought west from home. We girls were allowed to go in and look at the hand-painted china, ceramic and crystal lamps - but look only. Often we sat in the little house listening Taken at the homestead of Gene and Mattie Ellsworth south of Seibert, July 4, 1933. L. to R.: Helen Evelyn Sutton Sherman, Charles McDaniel, Ellamae Sutton McDaniel, Willie Sutton (back), Leslie Sutton (front), Mattie Ellsworth (back), William Lester Sutton (front), Gene Ellsworth (back), Mary Emma Sutton and Betty Sutton Austring (front). riding two horses, Roman-style (one foot on the back of each horse), going lickedy-split down the track." She would drag dad home, but it would be only a short time before he ran to the horse farms again. Dad was a trueborn horseman. This love and trust of horses brought him many years of enjoyment and occupation. My mother's parents, the Christopher family, came from Ames, Iowa and homesteaded near Flagler in 1910. Willie and Emma met through their family contacts, and in 1911they married. The first three girls of the Sutton family, Ellamea, Blanche, and myself, Helen Evelyn, were born at the old homestead ranch. My brothers, William Ivan (who died before he was one year old), Leslie Ivan, and William Lester were born after my parents had moved from the homestead closer to town. Our youngest sister, Betty Ruth was born in 1928. Life on the homestead was hard. demanding strengths to make a good life out of very scarce resources. Dad's health had not made the recovery he dreamed the west would bring, and he was homesick for the green fields of his home area. In the spring of 1917, he bought a 4-door Overland touring car and with reliable transportation, dad and mom headed back east to Hume, Missouri, selling the homestead and seeking some relief from the prairie life. The old adage, "you can't go home," rang brue when John Verhoeff came to visit in Hume the fall of 1917. John had shipped cattle to the Kansas City stock yards and braveled on to visit us. It was so good to see his old neighbor, and the humid climate back home had only brought back old health problems, so dad decided to give the west rnother try. The Sutton family headed back ;o Flagler and ever after Dad would remark, 'This country has water that is 99 percent pure, and air that is the cleanest in the world. I love the prairie." by llelen Evelyn Sutton Sherman SUTTON FAMILY while Mattie and mother visited. Aunt Mattie was an excellent cook. She could always have a delicious meal ready in no time at all. She joked that the chicken that met us at the gate was the one on the table for supper! by Mary Carter SUTTON FAMILY F696 F695 I Remember, Sutton Mother recalls when the Flagler town site was called Bowserville. Bowser being derived from the family who lived about one mile east of the township's present site, on the north side of the Rock Island tracks. Today, at this location, there stands one lone tree, and it was at this spot, mom recalls, "We used to walk down the tracks and have such nice picnics. The school picnics were often held at Bowserville, and then later when the Stewart family moved onto the property, we still had our picnics there; we children all over the pasture playing games." I've often wondered how our area in eastern Colorado so far removed from the locale of its namesake was so named. Henry Morrison Flagler, born in Hopewell, New York, was a stock holder of the Rock Island Railroad. Flagler was the promoter of the railroad that spanned the 100 miles of water and islands to Key West, Florida. He also built luxurious resort hotels in St. Augustine, Palm Beach, Miami, and other cities in Florida. Perhaps, when the railroad came to this part of the country, the event was so welcomed that the man responsible was honored. Shortly after my family returned to Flagler in late 1917, or early 1918, dad bought a cafe on street level in the Odd Fellows Lodge building. Cora Sweet was his pastry cook. Hetty Lipford was a waitress, Jim Quinn was I Remember, Sutton In about 1919 dad sold the cafe and bought Lavington's store. Noah Wold was the meat cutter and Hetty Lipford came to clerk in the dry good and notions section. The store, to my eyes, was quite large, stocked with bulk groceries. The barrels of potatoes, onions, pickles, and crackers seemed huge, standing above my seeking eyes, and tempted hands! There were cookies and candies to delight my heart, and oh, the huge round of cheese sitting on its own cutting block made my mouth water. Great wedges were cut from the round by a knife attached to the cutting board. Bananas came in huge bunches that hung from a ceiling hook. Kerosene was dispensed from a banel in the back store room. Jams came in half gallon buckets. One brand name was Delicious, and yes, it truly was! The store was heated by a large round heater with a big water tank on the top. In the twenties, gypsies roamed the country. They would come into the store, and from the age old tales that preceded them, every- one watched them carefully, thinking they were going to carry it all away. My dad had no such problems. Earl Brown had another store in Flagler. It was located where the present laundromat is now. Earl had a parrot in a cage kept on the sidewalk during the day in front of the store. All we children loved to hear its typical answer to our "Polly want a cracker?" �In 1925 dad sold his store and we moved that living room. After returning from Den- on Highway North 40. The windmill still ravages of cancer, he died at home in December of 1941. Saturdays were always "in town" days, and bo the Buchanan farm, two miles east of town stands there. It was here that I became a farmer. At ten years of age, I learned to milk cows, and help with the farm chores. Not long after, dad taught me to drive a team of horses to the "go-devil" (a weeder), and I was able to drive the team to the header barge during harvest, and the hay rack, tripping the lever and dumping the load even with the pattern rows my dad had made as he went first time around the field. Dr. Thomas retired about this time, and we bought his pony, Bonnie, buggy and harness-' ThJwhole family enjoyed her so much and later her colt, Betty Blossom, and then her colt, Princess. All the ponies had birthday parties, and mom would allow them to come onto the porch of the house we were living in, and have a taste oftheir birthday cakes baked special for the event. Dad taught all we children to ride at an early age. Many families in town owned milk cows in the '20s. We pastured the town cows and my brothers, Leslie and Lester, would take turns riding our ponies, driving the cows to pasture every morning, returning with them in the evening for milking time. Wilbur (Peanuts) Schumaker liked to help them because he could ride one of the ponies. My mother heard from "Peanuts" not too many years ago. He sent her a birthday card from his home in Fountain Valley, California. The main street of Flagler was a busy place in the '20s. The town offered most services that were needed and community life centered around the hub of the town. Art Watters had built a hotel in the early 1900s. It still stands, The Flagler Hotel. Art's brother' Tom, built a hotel in Goodland, Kansas around the same time. Both establishments were complete with outstanding dining rooms, and were the meeting places of the community. by Mary Carter SUTTON FAMILY ver where surgery and care failed to stop the everyone dressed in their best. We always had to visit William's Drug Store. I remember that the post office was next to the drug store. My brother, Leslie, had a pheasant dog that he loved to pull in his red wagon to main street. Leslie and Tippy would sit in the wagon and often Leslie would fall asleep' Mrs. Straub, the postmistress, would pull the wagon into the post office, and Tippy would not make a fuss as he knew Mrs. Straub. There they stayed until Leslie would awake. One day while Leslie and TiPPY were "parked" in front of the post office Art Waters stopped to visit with my brother and his dog, and dad passing by walked up to them and said, "Go ahead and talk with Leslie, Art, his dog won't bite you." "Oh," Art replied, "He already has!" Indeed, Tippy had grabbed Art's pant leg and pulled him away from Leslie. In those days when refrigeration was "powered" by a block of ice or cold water John Dyson kept an ice house. John, my dad, and several other men traveled winters to the Republican River east of town to cut ice from the river into blocks. Hauled back to town, the blocks were then packed in straw in the ice house, and during the summer months, I remember, we children would follow Dyson's wagon down the streets gathering and munching the ice chips left from delivery. The smithy, Ed Malbaff, worked winter and summer in his shop which was east of the present American Legion Hall. Ed presented quite a show of skill with his craft. With the iions red hot, he'd expertly pound the metal into shape - maybe an iron rim for a wagon' a wheel, or a horse shoe. Ed would dunk the piece into a tub of cold water where it crackled, and spewed forth clouds of steam. Paul Detlifsen's famous painting of the blacksmith could truly have been modeled from Ed Malbaffs shoP. by Mary Carter F697 I Remember' Sutton I remember our doctors tending to the medical needs of the community. The hospital that I recall was located where the West Hotel is today. First, I remember Dr. Neff. His dedication to his profession was so appreciated. Mom said Dr' Neff could cure wilh only the soothing nature of his bedside manner and the time he spent with his patients. There was Dr. Reed, and- Dr. McBride who married Mrs. Straub, and son Dr. John Chriss who followed in his footsteps. All dedicated men tending the need of our community on the prairie. I look at the little house on main street in Flagler today and wonder how our family managed to live within its small area' especially when I think back that mom frequently turned the living room into an infirmary where she nursed neighbors and townspeople that were too ill to return to the isolation of farms. The hospital-type bed would 9o uP, and most of the room partitioned with sheets. My father was the last one to be nursed in SUTTON FAMILY F698 I Remember' Sutton Arlie Wilson's Store of the '20s was a twostory brick building on the southeast corner of the main intersection of town. This building also housed the telephone office in the upper floor. Bretlingers lived in rooms connecting and operated the telephone of- fice. Mrs. Norris lived in rooms in the northeast corner ofthe building and ran a hat shop there. She designed and made the hats herself. Hats were most popular at the time. I remember Ellamae, Blanche and I had brown broad-brimmed beaver hats made by Mrs. Norris that we considered ever so I'd like you to deliver to your aunt, Ruby (Christopher - my mother's sister). You know, she and I attended grade school together at Second Central (located south of Flagler about 12 miles)." Mr. Will Borland, who went on to become a popular author, bought the Flagler News in 1910, and I remember how we children loved to watch the paper being printed in the basement work room under Arlie Wilson's Store. The stairs to the printing room came in from the sidewalk outside and there were two big windows where we could watch, lined up on the stairwell, noses pressed against the glass. Rodeos and races were held almost every weekend in the summer time. Tom Conarty usually rode one of dad's horses. Tom and I have often remembered the excitement of those races. The two Lundy brothers who Iived west of Flagler were horse trainers. George Lundy trained several of dad's horses in gaits. I remember riding those gaited horses - as easy as sitting in a rocking chair. And the dances all over the area in the'20s and early '30s; it didn't take much to talk anyone into organizing another before the last was over! I recall winter dances the whole family would go to, driving to "Nute" Smith's ranch and dancing 'til dawn in their big hay loft. Chores were done early, food was taken along, the old soap stone foot warmers were readied, and off we'd go. We'd have a covered dish supper, the children were bundled and put to bed on benches or piles of blankets; there would be dancing, and often a big breakfast before starting home. To be found at almost every dance in barn, hall or grange was Gertrude Peterson, who we called "shimmy Liz" playing the piano. She played by ear, and could make that instrument talk. We would ask her to play a tune, we'd hum a bar or two, and she'd pick up on it with the wink of an eye. I've seen her make a piano actually move on the floor. What a dynamic artist she was! Every harvest my dad and several neighbors would drive to Canon City with dad's rubber-tired trailer towed along and bring back potatoes, cabbages, turnips, parsnips, onions, apples and cider. They would stay with the Stegman family in Canon City who used to live neighbors before moving. In the fall we often drove to Rocky Ford for what we children referred to as "melon day"' One year, Governor Carr was there at the celebration. There was always a parade with floats from businesses and surrounding towns. Melons were piled high as small mountains in the streets, and anyone could take as many as they could carry away, Foods were canned or "put down" in cellars then to meet the family needs during winter time. Too bad melons couldn't be canned! Many years the gardens produced very little with no way to get water to the precious crops. by Mary Carter SUTTON FAMILY F699 elegant. In the homesteading days there were many country schools scattered around the prairies. Some years ago, I mentioned to Opal Conarty Joy that my mother and I were to attend a fiftieth Tesdahl family reunion in Ames, Iowa. Opal said, "I'll write a letter that I Remember, Sutton I remember coming home from the events of the season, and having mom build up the �fire in the old kitchen stove, fix hot cider, all of us placing our mittens, wet clothes and shoes close to the oven door. It was so homev and cozy. Dad would come in and we wouli take turns telling about the pictures we could see in 'ol Jack Frost's icey wonderland painted upon the panes of the windows. The winter of 1929 was a fright! There were snows that closed the highways for a long time; a passenger train drifted in on the tracks with the town people carrying food to feed them. Many drifts reached l0 and 15 feet high. I remember walking from the second floor porch of the West Hotel to the ground on a sloping snow bank. Mr. Stager had to tunnel into his garage across the street from the hotel. Dad loaded his largest sled with supplies and cotton seed and drove across country to his good friend Tom McCallum's ranch 15 miles southwest of town with feed for the animals. It was a hard winter for man and beast. Recalling Tom McCallum, brings to mind that years later when the McCallum familv were debating whether or not to "lay Tom away" with is white handkerchief around his neck. They decided he would go to his rest with it, folded just so with the triangle points to the front as he'd always worn it. Dad bought a Model T Ford Sedan when we girls were a bit older. One summer when cousin Joe came from Athens to visit. we "motored" to Manitou Springs and stayed several days to take in the sights. Then it was a special event to tour Helen Hunt's grave, the Cafe of the Winds, and always, end the stay with a picnic at the Garden of the Gods. We would eat salt water taffy, and Colorado Rainbow Trout. The relatives loved the trip, and so did we. That old Model T was shinv black, and I thought it very beautiful. We hai an accordion-folding luggage rack that was attached to the running board - a feat to load and unload that! Most winters neighbors would get together and butcher two or three hogs. Dad made his own mixture of either sugar-cure, or brine for the hams and bacons. I would help fry down the sausage and pack it in large stone crocks with lard for keeping. Food somehow seemed plentiful for our large family, although it did not come without the effort of growing, processing, and storing. Why did it seem to taste so good? During this period many people dried corn. After cutting the kernals from the cob, about two cups full were put in a clean salt sack, stitched up, and hung on the clothes line with clothes pins. The sacks were turned from end to end several times a day, and in about a week the corn was thoroughly dried and stored in the pantry. When ready to use, the corn was soaked overnight and cooked for about an hour. Having our own cows, we always had real cream - Yum, fresh milk, "Delicious" in jam buckets, lowering them into the water barrels at the windmill to keep. In the early '30s, mother grew weary of farm life, and she took it upon herself to retrieve all the farm equipment that dad has loaned out over the years, sell it and buy the little house on main street in Flagler. This home is where I live todav. During part of the early '30s dad was Flagler's Town Marshal for a time and at Ohristmas he usually played Santa Claus, passing out candy on the main street and at ;he Congregational Church. If there was snow, he would hitch a team of his favorite horses to a big sled and drive down Main Street, sleigh bells ringing. The children truly thought him to be Santa and wondered whv he knew so much about them. (The advantage, or did the children think disadvantage, witlr his barbering skills. He opened a shop in Seibert one time and tended the shop a couple days of each week. In all mv stowirre years, I remember him barbering on our bac[ porch. A great many friends would have no other touch their hair. by Mary Carter During the periods when we lived on farms in the area, Dad kept cattle. He favored short horns and often said that this land should not be broken out for farming to any degree as the buffalo grass, yucca, and cactus weie there to help hold the land. The dirt storms of the 'B0s that came from living and working with families in a closely knit community.) SUTTON FAMILY F700 I Remember, Sutton Dad was substitute mail carrier in later years. Winter time he often had to use his sled to haul the mail to the farms. Manv times people on his route would call in orders for groceries, coal, kerosene, feed, or medicine bore this statement out. Dad would onlv break bottom land, and he farmed iusi enough land to provide his own live stock feed. John Verhoeff was instrumental in teaching this to Dad, and in later years when many did not have water and grass for their cattle, John did. His conservation ofland and dams built for water served him well over the years. by Mary Carter and dad would gather the supplies to deliver with the mail. He often went north, spent the night at Aaron Thompsonls pl4ss and returned via the west route the next dav. During the height of the depression Dad worked on the W.P.A. He was a county road overseer. He built two cook shacks. one for cooking and eating, and the other with bunks for sleeping. These were pulled by a team of horses to a farmer's yard near wherever the crew was working. Dad and the crew would stay five days out, returning home on weekends. The road work was done with teams of horses hitched to Fresnos (large scoop-type shovels that moved and dumped the dilt ind gravel). Wagons with collapsible sides and bottoms hauled the dirt and gravel quite a distance. Near Flagler many cement slabs, bridges, and roads built during those years are still in use. Sam Potter and Buck Fisher both worked with my dad, and Mike Conarty was prized as a crew cook. During a recent visit with Zeke Kerl of Stratton he recalled he and dad worked side by side on old Highway 24 west of Vona during the winter of 1928 and 1929. Zeke said he broke in a nice team of mules belonging to my father on this job. Colt and Sons were the contractors that winter, and later in the summer Colt's crew moved on to build the road from Estes Park to Bear Lake. - On many occasions during road work my dad would have to pull a wagon loaded with sand and gravel out of the creek bed when other teams could not manage. Dad kept good horses, fed them well, and trained the.m verv well. His love of them spanned a life time. Money was almost nonexistent for manv years. W.P.A. gave "chits" as payment fo-r work and periodically commodities were "bought" when the W.P.A. truck arrived in town. Many women worked in the mattress factory set up in Flagler. These years brought lessons of patience, tolerance, and frugality to our family as f'm sure it did to others. Everything was put to a useful purpose, especially if nature had given it. Mom managed with the scarce resources of the time, and gave with selfless abundance to those she loved. I remember Aunt Kate, who worked in a garment factory in Iowa, sent barrels of clothes for mom to make over. Mother became an expert at this, and we girls always felt our clothes were quite suitable. Dad was able to supplement his income SUTTON FAMILY F70r I Remember, Sutton The prairie was then a haven for rabbits. prairie chickens, meadowlarks, and hawks. There used to be rabbit drives in an attempt to keep what little grass there was for tle cattle and horses. A bounty of five cents per pair of rabbit ears was paid by the goveinment. There were many prairie dog towns across the land, considered a nuisance as thev took over the area with holes and mounds. Many an acre became worthless to grow grass or farm. In driving in the country, I remember that "mirages" were quite common, In the distance were lakes of water, but on arriving at the spot there would be none! In crosscountry driving the wagon ruts were quite deep and when you were driving a c6u you soon learned how to stay in the tracks. Coming to a fence there were usually .,letdowns" and you lifted the barbed wires from the turned-up nails, stood on the wire. let the driver drive over the fence, and then you'd replace the let-down. So often I would get snagged doing this. In the '20s, there were cattle and horse traders from Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota who came every fall. A Mr. Hannah from Iowa bought one of our cows, a beautiful Ayershire named Goldie, and we girls cried our hearts out as she was driven to the loading yard. Some time during the mid-twettlie. orrr family moved to the Ead's farm just south and east of town. As I had done on the Buchanan farm I helped with the outside work, enjoying this much more than the housework. One especially frustrating job I did have was filling the kerosene lampi and cleaning the chimneys. It seemed thai when they were lighted, the wick was never quite right, and up the side of the chimney wenl the black soot! The cleaning and trimming were then to be done all over again. When wash day came on Mondays, I wanted to hide. The water was heated on the kitchen range in the wash boiler, the tub filled for sudsing, clear water canied in for the rinsing and the bluing tubs, and then the �clothes were hung on the line. In winter we'd often bring in clothes frozen so stiff they'd stand alone. These were thrown on Iines strung in the kitchen until they were finally dry. And ironing! With those flat "sad" irons heated on the range it seemed no time until they cooled and with the handle were repla- ced, picking up a hot one from the top of the stove which might last while ironing one part of a starched, dampened, rolled-up garment from the ironing basket. Also in washing the cream separator, the discs had to be threaded onto a rod and placed in a little trough, run through soapy and scalding water. Turning that separator was also my chore, and if I didn't get it back together just right, the-re was a mess. Feeding the chickens and gathering the eggs was another chore I usually did. When I went out it seemed no matter what size container I took I always needed a bigger one. When mom would help me, she could simply gather the corners of her apron, pla,ce those extras in her neat holder, and carefully get them back to the house. by Mary Carter SUTTON FAMILYF702 I Remember, Sutton We cooked on a Majestic coal range, and we burned wood, coal, corn cobs gathered from the pig pen, and many a time, cow chips. When we gathered those chips, we were most careful to only seek the dried ones! They did make a nice bright, hot fire' During the heat of the summer we cooked on a kerosene stove that was moved outside most of the time so the house would stay cool. The fires used to boil meats during butchering season' cook the large batches of rendered lard with lye for soap, or process the canning were also set outside in the yard. The party line telephone was considered a luxury when I was a girl. One twist called central. and the combinations of long and short rings designated the various parties. Of course, each time a phone rang everyone knew who was on the line, and the "clickclicks" reminded us that whatever was said was being heard by everyone. Entertainment at home was the norm. We had a Stereoscope to view picture post cards in three dimensions. We also had a Victrola that played records. We had parties at home now that we lived in town. At evening parties, or just when company came with children, we would scare ourselves out of our wits by all hiding around the yard but the one chosen "It," and that one had to walk about singing, "The Stars are shining; the moon is bright; I hope I don't see any ghosts tonight," and when the hidden children were passed by they jumped out and frightened thegre-ryho ' was';It." Also, we'd play Annie, Annie Over, getting lots of good exercise while we tossed i baU from one side of a pitched roof to the other. You never saw the team on the other side, but each of yours kept the score fair when you caught the ball. Fox and Geese in the winter snow was sure to keep our blood warmed up as we ran the circled course to avoid the Fox who had been tagged to chase us through the paths in the snow. We had a piano when we moved to main street and my sister, Ellamea, took lessons and entertained us at many a party. I loved to recite and under the tutorage of Mrs. Gibbs took on many of the Aunt Hett recitals of the time. Social functions revolved around the church and the Odd Fellows and Rebekah Lodge, hay rack rides in the summer, sleigh rides in the winter, school sport (I particularly tiked girl's basketball). I remember the first talking movies at Clarence Wright's theater - the first one I saw was Monty Montana in Montana Moon. We never lacked for something to do - after the work was done. So many of the people who I went to school with remark of the good times they had at "Ms. Sutton's house." Letters then were mailed with a 3 cent stamp, post cards for a penny. Free movies were shown on the side of the building er's wagon with the bang board on. There was straw in the bottom of the wagon' The school district furnished the school bus body only and the interested persons would bid on the four different routes, which required the successful bidder to furnish a truck chassis so the bus body could be mounted which consisted of two side benches plus a small middle bench. No heaters in those days! First Central was able to attract very competent teachers. I appreciated all ofthem and their efforts. Names that I can remember are Violet and Edith Campbell and Thelma Lowe. (She was very understanding and tried to teach us good manners along with our other studies.) Prof. Frog, whose physics lessons I was able to use all oflife, I appreciate much. Fourteen students started out in 1922. By 1934 when we graduated there were eight of us: Leonard Beeson, Loraine Iseman housing Wilson's store. In summer, Flagler (Wood), Robert Bailey, Clair Barr, Marie Kiper (Lesher), Ella Storrer, Wesley Taylor, enjoyed Junior Chautauqua in the mornings. Sometimes we could stay on for the afternoon performances, or an evening show' A huge ient was set up in the block where the Flagler Seed plant is now. We'd have competitions presenting plays. For many years the county Inez Smith and myself, Parker Swann. Cloyd Storrer and Nora Wright (Johnson) were post was on the Chautauqua circuit. We all ichools continued this event. Also, the box suppers where all would gather, bringing their favorite dishes boxed in beautifully decorated boxes. These were auctioned off to the highest bidder with the monies going to some philanthropic project for a need of the community. You can believe that the "Romeo of each Juliet" was given an explicit description of the box she brought, and heaven forbid if he did not bid high enough to win the privilege of joining her for supper! Yes, it was a good childhood growing up in Flagler, Colorado and living on the eastern graduates and assisted us on the stage graduation night. I think none of us of that era will forget the dust bowl days, but we will remember the happy times and good people that helped us along the way. by Parker Swann SWANN, GEORGE AND BERTHA F704 prairie in the early 1900s. by Mary Carter SWANN FAMILY ..,r.r::j&r t:l::S, F703 '\e*.. 14""T" Growing up in Kit Carson County, Colorado is part of my life that I am thankful for. I was fortunate to have loving and under- standing parents, D.D. Swann and Nellie. We lived on my father's homestead seventeen t..,i .i. r.ll:' , ..,ir:l:l:ti:: '"'i'*\1:::.' I i; miles south of Bethune or twenty-six miles southwest of Burlington, Colorado. We farmed about a section of land for crops, plus had some pasture land for stock, horses, milk cows that were turned out overnight. There was lots of free range land at that time. Being born in 1916, I experienced the open prairies, horse and buggy days, and Model ,f ltrlr -dr ."' ""?#4 T's. I can clearly remember when people could go from our place angling northeast to Burlington without any trouble with fences. I remember people moving in to make eastern Colorado a wheat producing country in 192829. From all the plowing of the buffalo grass, we went through the dust bowl days in the early thirties and the hard times especially after the banks went broke. I attended the First Central School starting in L922. Mr. Greenwood was the bus driver that year. All twelve years we left home at 7 a.m. after chores were completed to arrive at school by 9 a.m., arriving home in the evening to do the chores around five or so. Due to the snows that first year we rode in a cornhusk- '_li:],:.rJ George and Bertha Swann My great grandparents, George and Bertha Swann, homesteaded south ofBethune in the early 1900's. My mother, LaDene Richardson, and her brother, Russell Clark, spent many summers out there. She told me how long it would take to get to Goodland which now takes only a little over one hour. When George and Bertha moved to Goodland, their son, Dudley Swann, took over the place. Their children are Parker, and Bertha Mclean of Lake Havasu City, Arizona, Elwin of Bullhead, Arizona, and Ilene Wood of � 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- S Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1988 Description An account of the resource Brief family histories of founding families of Kit Carson County whose names begin with "S." As found 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/17/508/Families-T_U_V.pdf df1504bf0291779a6384745335c7f6a0 PDF Text Text Akron, Colorado. It gives one a sense of belonging to know that some of your family helped settle this land. by Phyllis Wall There were six more children born with the help of a midwife Mrs. Lowe who was Art Lowe's mother. Georgia Megel said she helped mother when I was born. The six children were named Arthur Weslev. Vaughn, Vance, Shelby, Darrell Dean, ant Darlene Joy. We all went to the First Central TAGGART, VELMER MILLER F705 As a small child, I came to Flagler, Colo., in 1908 with my parents, John and Agnes Collier. We lived on a farm north of town for School our twelve years of schooling. Some of my classmates were Lewis Borden. Wanda Baetz, and maybe a Gooch child and others. Mrs. Gooch was the first cook for our hot lunches. Shelby helped and later he was the cook and some of us girls would get out of class early to help him. When I graduated in Miller. To this union, four children were 1945, I was the only one in my class, the others had all moved away. All of us Taylor children graduated from First Central. At the time, they held church services at the school and Mr. Ness was the minister. He lived about one half mile from us and one of my best friends was their daughter Charlette. It seemed so nice to have another girl around. Six older brothers were hard on an only girl, and another girl to talk to was great. Dad helped Ness' out by giving them coal and so In 1948, Thelma married Elmer T. Havs. He passed away in 1980. They had four children: Pamela Sue born in 1949; Angela when they no longer had any, he went clear over to Vona in his 1928 Chewolet truck. The truck bed was about as big as the beds in the several years. _ In t924, I graduated from Flagler High School and that same year married Ord h. born: Agnes Jane in 1925, who passed away in 1930; Thelma Lavonne "Bonnie" was born in 1927; Lawrence W. was born in 1g31: James W. was born in 1945. We lived on farms for many years, eighteen miles north and east of Flagler. Gail, born in 1951; Ronnie Gene born in f-gSg and Mark Wade, born in 1968. Lawrence joined the Armed Forces in 19b1. He was released when his father. Ord R. Miller died in 1953. Lawrence returned to the farm. In 1959, he and Shirley Simon were married. There were three children, two adopted. After James graduated from high school in 1963, he and Ruth Ann Bower were manied. He joined the Armed Services and after serving in Kansas and Alabama, they went to Germany where he was stationed as a helicopter mechanic. In 1965, their son, James D. was born. After a divorce, Jim married Verna Dunn in 1984, who has a daughter, Tana. In 1960, I married John L. Taggert and we made our home in Strasburg for lb years. He passed away in 1973. I came back to Flagler in 1975, where I still reside. by Velma Taggart forth. Dad got the coal from Stratton but pick-up trucks of today. We were good friends with the Ness' until they moved to Stratton. Our family raised cane and corn. Some of the corn was ground for corn flour. The cane was used as feed for the cows and horses. In the dirty 30's, the family raised dry land potatoes, which Dad delivered to Chevenne Wells and all around Burlington and Strat- ton. To keep the potatoes cool, Dad dug a 100 foot long cellar to sort and store the potatoes. After the potatoes weren't grown anymore, the cellar was used for setting hens to hatch chickens. Mother would carefully put several eggs under each setting hen to hatch for her own chicks. Then the folks bought two incubators to hatch the chickens. Thev sold chickens and turkeys to the Shanks CLfe in Burlington, a cafe that my uncle Lee Taylor bought in the early b0's. One day in the early 30's, my parents and I went to Goodland and on the way back we had to stop at Kanorado because of a dirt TAYLOR, PERRY AND NETTIE F706 My parents moved from Goodland, Kansas in 1914 to their homestead. In Goodland Dad had been working for the railroad, mostly around the round house. They came west in a wagon and their only son Perry Eugene was small enough to lay in a dresser drawer. Dad walked the cattle across the unfenced prairies while Mother drove the wagon. They stayed with some people (I do not recall their name) rcuth of Burlington and they came on west ;he next day. There was a small building on ;he homestead that they stayed in while luilding a two room soddie. In later years, as ;he family grew, so did the house. Thev also ruilt a sod milk house where *" goi o.r, lrinking water. The water came from a well hat I think maybe a Mr. Hardin dug. In this ,ame building there was a square tank which vas used for keeping the milk, cream and rutter cool. storm. We just pulled over to the side of the road and sat in the car until the storm was over. I remember it because I was so frightened. Another time there was a prairie fire, which came in from the south. School was turned out early and we were told to go right home. The fire came within about a milJ of our home. I still can see those flames racing across the prairie. It was a terrible sight. Eugene had to go away from home to work in the 30's. He first worked at Boone. Colorado at a bean farm. I can renember Pugene saying that bean farming was the hardest work he had ever done. He also worked at a ranch near Yuma at the Stiners ranch. In those days, the farm hand stayed with the people they worked for. They were all very nice people. On July 4th, 1936, a rain and hail storm came through near the Herman Baetz place. Part of the Baetz family was coming back across the creek and they did not make it because a wall of water hit them. LaDonna, the oldest daughter, was swept down the creek into the Landsman. Several neighbors, including Dad, looked for her but onlv found her glasses hanging on a fence. Her body was finally found later further down the creek toward Bethune. The boys hunted rabbits and when they got them home they would skin and hang tiEm out to dry. That would make the boyi some extra money for they would take skins into Stratton to sell to the creamery. My brothers also raised watermelon. They had to haul water to the watermelon patch from the well by the house. We ate a few and sold the rest. On Saturday night, the folks would have barn dances and the boys all played instru- ments and Mother fried hamburgers for everyone to buy. Dad always kept law and order. If there was a fight or a disorder, Dad would always be there to take care of things. There were always a lot of people from miles around and all in all, I think that evervone had a good time. The barn first was a cow shed and they put in a wooden floor and a pot belly stove to keep the chill out of the ro-om in chilly weather. Cowchips were used for heat. The chips were lit first after they were soaked in kerosene. Then the large pieces of coal (chunk coal) were added and after that the fine coal (slack coal) was added. The stove stayed warm for what seemed like forever. We would all help gather the cowchips and I always made sure they were good and dry before I would even kick them. Dad had Lloyd Megel put in a 82 volt wind charger with 16 batteries. It was so nice to have lights, and electric iron and a washer. This wind charger was used until R.E.A. came. Mom would always sew all our clothes. Sometimes sJre was up until midnight sewing for her family. Dresses for me and shirts foi the six boys. Mother also made the quilts for all of us; this is something she reallyenjoyed doing. I still have some of her quiltl after all these years. Our family had horses they worked in the fields even after the tractors were used bv others. We used horses on the header, cutting barley and stacking it until fall when thi threshing crew came in. One of these crews was the Blankenbaker crew, Rodney Blankenbaker's father. Mother and I would cook special meals during threshing. We used the best dishes and had more food on the table fo_r everyone, including the threshing crews. We always had meat and potatoes and peaches and cream. We butchered our own pork and cooked up sausage, after which we would put a layer of sausage and a layer of lard until the five gallon jar was full. The jar was put in the milkhouse. As we would need the sausage it was taken out and heated, what a tieat. Mother always had a large garden and all the vegetables were canned and stored awav for the wintgr. Later, Father and the boys dug a deep hole south of the house where'ice and snow was kept for our ice box. The ice box was wooden and didn't hold much food because the ice took up a lot of room. The ice in the ice hole would usually last until late summer. When we ran out Dad would go to Stratton and buy some from Mr. Wallgamont. Wesley, Vance and Darrell all served in World War II. They all came home except Vance who was shot down and killed the dav after his 24th birthday over the oil fields in Romania. Vance's death was something that I believe that neither Mom or Dad ever got over. Mother passed on in March 11. 1966 and Father in July of 1975. I will always remem- �ber the "good old days" when we lived south of Stratton on the "homestead". by Darleen Joy Taylor Pottorff in 1987. THOMAN, LEO AND LUCY F707 He passed away in 1942, and Mary in 1979. They had five daughters, Helen Smelker, Violet Bunch, Ila Hobgood, Vivian Sternholm and Deloris Magnuson. by Ines McArthur and Irene Kennedy THOMASON FAMILY F708 After the rivers and trees of eastern Early 1920's Montgomery & Thyne Garage in Stratton, Co. Kansas, arriving on the bleak, windy and cold Colorado plains in March 1921, was a shock to the young family of John F' and Pansy B. (Hall) Thomason. They had journeyed to Stratton from Baileyville, Kansas with their two young sons, Harold, age 4, and Galen, age 2. John's parents, Frank M. and MarY (McCartin) Thomason, had moved to Stratton the previous year (1920) along with their daughters, Bessie and Ada. John and Pansy Thomason added three more sons to their family after moving to Francis (1923), LaVerne (1926), Colorado - (1933). The family always lived and Melvin in the Idlewild School District, and all the boys graduated from Stratton High School. Both families farmed and raised cattle north of Stratton. John and Pansy left the farm and moved into Stratton in 1944, because their sons were in military service and other help was not available. Pansy lives in Stratton at 230 Kansas Avenue. Pansy Thomason celebrated her 88th birthday in 1985. John Thomason died in 1958. Harold (Hal) worked for several years in the Stratton Drug Store and now is the owner/pharmacist of the drug store in Cal- Leo and Lucy Thoman han. Colorado. Galen is retired from the U.S. Air Force and lives in Buena Vista, Colorado' Francis is a CPA and lives in Mclean, Among some of the first settlers to come to Kit Carson County, were Leo and LucY Thoman. They traveled from their home in Burlington, Iowa, to claim their land, 6 miles east ofBurlington, Colorado, near Peconic, at what was then called Carlisle. Traveling in a covered wagon, they left on Sept. 11, 1886 and arrived on Oct. 23. Because it was getting late in the fall, they hurried to make suitable living quarters by digging a cellar. This provided shelter from the winter and provided a home that met their needs till a house could be built, the following year. Leo and Lucy were married in April of 1885. Their five children were born here; Arnold, Bessie and Mary and two boys who died. Later they built an adobe house (just south of the Peconic elevators.) Leo helped build the Rock Island railroad. The children would pick up coal along the tracks that was spilled and sometimes the men would throw a shovel full off for them. In 1904, when the children ere very young Leo passed away, but Lucy carried on with the help of Arnold (10) and the girls. The relation in Iowa would send barrels of fruit and nuts in the fall to help out. Lucy passed away in L922, Close neighbors were the Teils, Stampers, Johnsons, and Martins. Arnold married Vera Dillon, she passed away in 1970. Bessie married Maynard Dunham, who passed away in 1964 and she passed away in 1984. Mary married Elmer Magnuson, a son of a homesteader west of the Smokey Hill school house. Virginia. LaVerne (Vern) is a dairy products distributor in Limon, Colorado. Melvin (Mel) teaches pharmacology at Temple University and lives in a suburb of Philadelphia. Pansy Thomason is the proud mother of five sons, grandmother of twenty, and greatgrandmother of twenty-two children' by Pansy Thomason W.T. and Olive Thyne in 1940 in Elizabeth, Co. a garage and Chevrolet agency, was manager of Stratton Co-op, was a Star-Route carrier for 20 years before his retirement. Ruth Thyne graduated from Stratton High School in 1929 and worked at the grocery store there. Russell D. Spurlin (1907-1967) came to Stratton with his parents Melvin (1878-1927) and Olive Dannevik Spurlin (1880-1963), 3 THYNE - BAKER AND SPURLIN DANNEVIK AND SPURLIN - THYNE FAMILIES F709 Olive Baker, daughter of John Bloss and Iona Taylor Baker Families (1886-1974) came from Beloit, Ks. in 1907. She homesteaded north of Stratton. William T. Thyne (1885-1975) son of Daniel and Sarah Thyne came from Doon, Iowa in 1906. He homesteaded 10 miles north of Stratton. W.T. and Olive met and married in 1911. To this union 5 children were born Ruth (1911-1976), Dan (1913), Bill (1921), Gene (1924-1980) and Mary Kay (1926-1979). He engaged in ranching and farming, operated a local dairy, ran brothers Dale (1902-1979), Gray (1905-1966)' Gene (1911-1971) and 2 sisters Alpha (1909) and Dorothy (1914), from Edmund, Ks. in 1919. Melvin was a drayman. Olive's father Otto and brother Will Dannevik moved with them and together they built several homes in Stratton. Some were block and some cement brick. Russ was working as a barber when he met and married Ruth Thyne in 1930. Four children were born to this union; Bob, Doris, Duane (Shorty) were born in Stratton and Donna was born in Cheyenne Wells where Russ was working at the light plant and Ruth helped her brother Dan in his grocery store there. Pearl Harbor was bombed and so Ruth's 3 brothers had to go to the service and this left the farm unattended so we moved back to Stratton to the farm. For a few months during the winter Russ worked in Denver at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal. In 1949 we moved 1/z mile west of Stratton, had a dairy and delivered raw milk, later we delivered homogenized. When it first came out on the market, we could hardly talk nFo �son Derek. Duane (Shorty) Spurlin graduated in 1956, spent 2 years in army, worked in grocery store for Uncle Bill Thyne in Cheyenne Wells, worked with a bridge construction company for 15 years. He married Jeanette Mast. They have 2 daughters Charlene & Rebecca. Charlene died after heart surgery at the age of 3 years in 1978 and Rebecca died in infancy. Shorty himself, in 1945 at 8 years old, came close to death when he and a cousin, John Spurlin, were climbing a 35 ft. tree. Shorty reached the top first and grabbed a wire which sent a short circuit of 2200 volts through his body and pinned him to the tree. It was only by one chance in a thousand that he lived. Such an accident usually means instant death. Shorty and Jeanette reside in Northglenn where they are managing a 358 unit apartment complex. R.D. and Ruth Spurlin in Cheyenne Wells, Co. in 1940. Donna Spurlin graduated in 1956, worked as a bookkeeper in Denver, Nebraska, California and back to Denver where she resides with her husband Robert J. Whalen. They have 2 daughters; Sherri and Patricia and grandson Kevin. Ruth, Dan, Bill, Gene and Mary Kay went to school at Solid Center, Vz mile north from homestead. We four kids, Bob, Doris, Shorty and Donna also attended Solid Center. Later Batt Realty Co. bought, moved and remodeled it and later W.T. Thyne (Granddad & Grandma) bought it for he and Olive to live in. We kids and our kids all had family gatherings there for years, so it was a big part of our lives. by Doris Stevens TOLAND, RAY E. AND GLADYS (ANNIE) FTlO Ray Ervin Toland was born in St. John, Kansas, on December 9, 1891. He was married to Gladys Kay in Hutchinson, Kansas, on August 4, 1915. They had two Melvin and Olive Spurlin 1924 in Stratton. customers into trying it. At the same time they managed Hollywood Creamery. He also was a Star-Route carrier. Later Ruth was a cook at school lunch room. Bob Spurlin graduated in 1951, served in Korean War for 2 years, spent time in Japan, worked for Highway Dept. as an engineer for 22 years. He has 4 sons, Lonnie, Vean, Ted and Doren and one daughter, Peggy. Bob was killed in a car accident in 1979 Vz mile from home. Doris Spurlin graduated in 1953, married Dallas Stevens. They bought D&D Cleaners in Burlington in 1958. They have 5 daughters, Dana, Debra, Diane, Devona, Dee and one children: Mary Ellen (Balanga) born July 6, 1916, and Max Kay born October 1, 1920. In 1933, the Tolands moved to Hugo, Colorado, then on to Stratton in 1940. They operated the "Stratton Cafe" on Main Street until December, 1945. At this time they purchased the Toland Cream Station. With the creamery still under their direction, they opened the Collins Hotel Cafe. Ray died February 6, 1951. After his death, Gladys spent several years managing the dining room of the Grand Pacific Hotel in Bismarck, North Dakota. She returned to Stratton in 1966, where she managed the Memorial Hospital Board. He died in Decembet 4, L974. Janet Toland presently resides in San Clemente, California, near Bonnie, her husband and Janet's only grandson, Trey. Marie and her husband live in Evergreen, Colorado. by Janet Toland TOWERS, BERT F71l Bert Towers came by emmigrant train to Kit Carson County with his parents, George and Emily Towers in 1906. Bert also raised horses Iike his father before him. He was well known around Burlington for he trucked cattle for a business. I, Georgia Megel, his niece, have this newspaper article about uncle Bertie. "Centennial Race Track will not be the same when the barns start to house thorough- breds for the 1961 meeting. Bertie Towers, Centennial's night watchman, died of a heart attack Saturday night. He was 77. He lived with his wife, Opal, in a trailer behind the racing offices. Their whole life was wrapped up in 'Yuma Wray', the only race horse quartered the year round at Centennial. (The horse was named Yuma because he was born at Yuma, Colo.) Each season Yuma Wray, wearing the Towers'colors, would win a race or two at Centennial. The mare, now retired, has a yearling by Pelouse . ." In 1910, I remember the prairie fire that was started by someone camping north of Kit Carson, Colo. The wind was blowing so hard and it got away from them. It burned so much in Kit Carson County. The fire moved so fast that a horse couldn't outrun it. Uncle Bertie had left for home but father tried to get him to stay. He wouldn't and before he got home, the fire had burned the horse's mane and the tassel off his tail. Father lost feed and Uncle Bert lost a barn and 9400. by Georgia Megel TRESSEL, MISS JENNIE L. F7t2 One of the most energetic, accomplished, and colorful Kit Carson County early-day settlers was Miss Jennie L. Tressel. Her popularity can be attested to by the many times that she has been mentioned in these restaurant at the Golden Prairie Inn until her death, June 7,1973. Mary Ellen was married to Rueben Balanga on July 26, 1942, and died on January 2, L957. Max Kay served 4 years overseas in World War II; was married to Janet Dillon on May l, L947. They had two daughters: Bonnie Jo (Swann) born July 1, 1948, and Marie Kay (Wolfley) born December 11, 1953. Max worked for Inland Utilities until it was incorporated into K.C. Electric Association where he was employed for 27 years. He served two terms as Mayor of Stratton, also as Justice of the Peace, a Red Cross Instructor, and a member of the Kit Carson Countv Miss Jennie Tressel with two of her "boys", Allen Greenwood and Kenneth Hoot, at Smelker School �histories. It is quite well-established that she was a homemaker probably around the turn of the century. Besides coping with pioneer life, she beco-e an outstanding educator and schoolteacher. From 1916 to 1922 she served as Kit Carson County Superintendent of Schools. She drove a team of horses hitched to a buggy when she visited the schools in the county. In later years when the horses became old, she sold them to Theodore Greenwood. One was a beautiful sorrel and when he died. Mr. Greenwood had his hide removed, tanned, and made into a beautiful robe with dark green felt cloth lining. It is kept as a family heirloom in memory of Miss Tressel. Besides being County Superintendent, she was Superintendent of the Vona School, taught in Stratton, and in many country schools. She had "a way" with children' and they would strive to please her. Instead of punishing for wrong-doing, she had a system of giving "merit points" for good behavior and deeds accomplished. So many "merit points" would earn a prize, something small but treasured by the children. If they completed their assignment, she would let them work on crafts, - shadow pictures, sewing cards, and woodworking like little stools and shelves. They used scrap lumber and a coping saw. and these little articles can still be found in the homes, cherished by the now grown children. One of her hobbies was a stamp collection, and she helped many children to become interested in stamps. At the end of her life she bequeathed her valuable stemp collection to one ofher "girls" who had pursued the hobby. Another diversion in which she was interested and knowledgeable was Parliamentary Law. So she helped the children organize a Club, elect officers, and gather solemnly for meetings on Friday afternoon, all conducted according to strict Parliamentary Law. Miss Tressel was a genial person to have at neighborhood parties and programs. She always had a reportoire of "fun" games. As far as we know, her lone relative was a frail and sickly sister for whom she took responsibility in later years. She built a nice home in Stratton, now owned bY FloYd Borders and she and her sister lived there for a time. Then the sister died and rumor had it that the gister's doctor bills for which Miss Tressel felt responsible, finally divested her of most of her finances. Miss Tressel's final days were spent here in Stratton in a little two-room house which Mrs. Rachael McNees built in her yard for her beloved friend. She had all arrangements made for her funeral including the request that six of her "boys", now grown, be her pallbearers. She was a grand old lady. than from where they moved in Indiana. Previously, Tom and Cherie were Vocational Agriculture teachers at two different high school in southern Indiana. They were FFA Advisors and coached several judging teems. In addition Cherie coached volleyball and as a licensed volleyball official in the state of Indiana. Tom was born in Burlington, Vermont on August 11, 1961, but moved a few years later to Holbrook, Massachusetts, where his parents still reside. Cherie Renee Pizarek was born August 3, 1958 in Michigan City, Indiana, which is 8 miles from where her parents still live on a farm near LaPorfe, Indiana. Tom has three younger brothers, and Cherie has one older brother. Cory was born through a previous marriage on July 22, 1981 in Louisville, Kentucky. Tom graduated from St. Joseph's Elemen- tary School in 1975, Norfolk County Agriculture High School in 1979, and Purdue University in 1984. Cherie graduated from St. Mary's Elementary School in L972, Marquette Catholic High School in 1976, and Purdue University in 1980. Cherie returned to Purdue in 1982 to pursue certification in TRIEB, THOMAS AND CIIERIE F7t3 Thomas William Trieb, Jr. and Cherie Pizarek Trieb moved to the Burlington area on September 1, 1985 with their son, Corydon Milo Garmon. They moved here in search of a drier climate and a more rural atmosphere mond Chindlen, born May 5, L952. They live at Long Beach, California. 2. Enid Irene Underwood born Oct. 11, 1928, at Columbine, Wy. Enid married Allen Rawden on June 25, L948, They have 3 children: Donald Bruce Rawden born April 14, 1950, Debbie Christine Rawden born March 23, 1952, and Allen Dean Rawden born Sept. 16. They live in Washington. by Linda L. Ljunggren Brandt Vocational Agriculture Education with a minor in biology. Her first degree is in General Agriculture with emphasis in Agronomy and Animal Science. It was in the fall of 1983 at Purdue University that Tom and Cherie first met, as they were two of twenty- VAN DE WEGHE, ALMA LIMING nine students preparing to be student teachers of Vocational Agriculture the following spring. Tom and Cherie were manied on July 20, 1985 at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Bernadette Elizabeth Trieb was born on July 2, 1987 at Swedish Medical Center in Alma Van De Liming, had four children - and Marvin. Weghe, Robert, Melba Rehor We were raised on a farm 18 miles north and 3 miles west of Stratton. The original oneroom school house used as our home was later Englewood, Colorado. She is a welcome addition to the family. The Triebs are members of St. Catherine's Catholic Church in Burlington, where Cherie teaches CCD. Tom is an officer in the Burlington Council of Knights of Columbus. Cherie is president of Modern Homemakers, very active in the Burlington Young Mothers' Organization, and a volunteer at the Colorado Welcome Center. Tom and Cherie are 4-H leaders, too. In the past they had been active in the KCC Cattleman's association, Seibert Young Far- mers', KCC Cowbelles, and St. Catherine's Altar & Rosary. Tom is presently a feedlot assistant for Busby,Inc. by Cherie Trieb F715 My parents, William (Bill) and Hazel replaced by a house moved in from a few miles away that Dad purchased from Ray Bowers. Some of the early memories I have of my parents, I would like to share with you. We had a Majestic range that furnished the heat for the whole house, plus being used for cooking and baking. Mom its intended use - and it was so good to come baked bread often home from school to hot bread with homemade butter, jelly and jams, and frequently a big pot of beans. In the summer we would pick lambs quarter (a weed) and Mom would can it for our spinach. We also always had an abundance of homemade cottage cheese. Mom grew a big garden every summer and in the fall she made sauerkraut, hominy, pickles, and canned whatever was left that wouldn't keep in the cellar. I can remember so well Dad bringing in bushels of big white ears of corn that we shelled by hand so we UNDERWOOD, GRACE BELL SMITH by Marie E. Greenwood Grace (Smith) Underwood and Ed Underwood. F714 Grace Bell Smith, daughter of Salmon Peter Chase Smith and Laura Alice Cook, was born May 28, 1898, at Tobias, Saline County, Nebraska. Grace married Edgar Underwood, son of William and Mary Underwood, Sept. 20, 1916, at Burlington, Colorado. Edgar died Dec. 24, L956. Grace died May 19, 1961. Both are buried at Billings, Montana. They had two daughters: 1. Erma Underwood born Oct. 25, 1918, at Stratton, Colorado. Erma maried Clarance Edmund Chindlen Nov. 21. 1940, at Littleton, Colorado. They had a son, David Ed- wouldn't get any bad kernels, cooking the kernels in lye water until the hulls would slip off. then washing it over and over in cold water until all the hulls were gone and we had beautiful white hominy. Same with the kraut we took the cabbage heads, removed the -outside leaves and Mom and Dad then took turns shredding up the cabbage. Dad prepared a big vinegar barrel in the cellar where we put the shredded cabbage and salt and trarnped it down with a big club Dad had made. Then, it was weighted down with a cloth-covered lid and let set to ferment. What a treat to go down in the cellar later and bring up a big bowlful. Like all of our neighbors, we butchered our own hogs and cattle, salt cured or canned the meat, and could plan on fresh liver for supper on butchering day. Generally, the neighbors assisted each other with butch- �ering. Mom also made all our clothes. Our underwear was made from empty flour sacks that she had scrubbed on the washboard to get the label washed out. Sometimes you could still see a faint "Belle of Denver" (flour brand name) on our bloomers. Mom raised ducks and picked their feathers to make feather beds and pillows and we used fresh shucks to fill ticks to sleep on. Dad loved horses and we always had horses to ride. He was one of the last people in the community to quit farming with horses. Our cows were registered Aryshires, and milking was a joint family effort. Also, every fall we went into the pasture and picked up cow chips enough to National Bank in Denver. Now that my husband and I are semi-retired, we enjoyed traveling and being with our families. Memories are continuing to be made for my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. by Alma Van De Weghe VANCE FAMILY F7l6 back, we stacked them in ricks and burned them in the daytime, saving the coal for banking our night fires. For recreation and entertainment we had house dances, barn celebration. Burlingtonites built a huge burning of his shirt. In 1948 Shorty built a two story brick building just east of the Bank of Burlington. There were four apartments upstairs and the lower floor housed a furniture store which he owned and operated. The bank purchased the building in 1975 and it was torn down for horseshoe contests too. After graduating from Kirk High School, I married Kenneth Idler and we had four children Donald, Gerald, Richard and - We farmed for seven years, then Wilma Jean. due to Kenneth's death from heart disease. the children and I moved to Joes and built a motel known as the "Alma Motel". Later we moved to Yuma and had a motel called "400 K Kort". In 1961 I married Maurice Van De Weghe and we moved to Denver. Donald their expansion. The family was members of the Methodist Church of Burlington where Wreath was and is very active in the ladies groups being a life member of United Methodist Women. and his wife, Mary, and 3 children, Mary Shorty served as trustee for many years and Yvonne played the organ during the 40s. Wreath is also a life member of Burlington Woman's Club having joined in 1944.Shorty Donna, Martha Ann and Donald Jr., live in Apache Jct., Arizona. Gerald and his wife, Jane, and daughters Holly Anne, Jennifer Lynn and Susan Marie, live in Buford, Georgia. Another daughter, Kendra Jo, is married and lives in Benton, Arkansas. was a member of Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club. Weldon was very active in football, basketball and baseball and Shortv was a firm supporter of the High School Richard and his wife, Joyce, and sons William Allen and Charles Louis, live in Wheat Ridge, Melba and her husband, Rudy Rehor, presently live on Dad's homestead after having worked many interesting years in road as a mechanic and - Rudy Melba often cooking for the crew. Melba had construction one son, Bobby Bill Todd, who died in infancy. Marvin and his wife, Marjorie, live in Lakewood, Colorado. They had 5 daughters Constance Lee Briggs (deceased), Jo Ellen, -Marla, Janet and Julie. Marvin is a plumber and owns M.L. LimingPlumbing Co. JoEllen and her husband, Bill Dozier, and 3 children, Jeffery, Matthew and Emily, live in Lakewood, Colorado. Marla and her husband. Lance Shepard, and sons Aaron and Nathan, live in Morrison, Colorado. Janet and her husband, Tom Pratt, and daughter Rebecca, live in Los Angeles, California. Julie Liming lives in Lakewood, Colorado. Besides being wife and mother, I also had a brief career working for the Colorado back of their trucks or under the stars and didn't have a cook crew in a modern trailer to feed them. It was the same year at the age of 39 that Shorty received his draft call from Uncle Sam to serve in World War IL He failed to pass his physical due to a heart condition. Aug. 9, 1945 - VJ Day, victory in Japan, put an end to World War II and was a day of great bonfire at the intersection of Senter and 14th and burnt hats, shirts, and bras. As the crowd got into the spirit of things and became quite rowdy, Shorty closed up Shorty's Palace and went home. He took the back way to avoid the dances, played cards, or just gathered at someone's home and played yard games. Of course, we had the usual baseball and mother. Wilma Jean and her husband, Duane Glenn, live in Fort Collins, Colorado. They have two daughters Marie Reeger, - Jeanie who has one daughter, and Rayna Jo Hoschouer, who has 3 children. Robert (Bob) lives in Fort Collins with his wife, Gale, and daughter, Bobetta. Bob farmed several years in Eastern Colorado and Missouri, and then moved back to Colorado and was a plumber until his retirement from the Poudre Valley School system. they would have as many as "24 egg and cheese sandwiches to go". Thought they could never look at another egg sandwich. In those days custom harvest crews slept in the fill several hayracks. After bringing them Colorado. Richard's oldest son, Kenneth Richard, lives in Mesa, Arizona with his cooking and pie making; working together to make the business a success. These were the war years and it was difficult to get enough meat due to rationing. One harvest when the custom cutters were in for take-out orders, Booster Club. J.V. and Wreath Vance Family, 1944.L. to R. Yvonne, J.V.(Shorty), Weldon, and Wreath. Front, Dennis. On Dennis'es graduation from high school, May 1955, the dirt blew so terrible one couldn't drive across town to Baccolaureate. On prom night there was a choking dust storm. Jacob Vernon Vance and Evelyn Wreath Frank were married April 2L,1927. Both were natives of Jewell City, Kansas. Vernon became a baker by trade. He worked at and owned bakeries in Kansas and Colorado until eczema on his hands as well as economic reasons forced him to leave the business. After a few years of construction and truck driving, he came to Burlington in the fall of 1942 to work for Bert Meyers at the Burlington Bakery. When school was out the next May he moved his wife and three children from Goodland, Kansas to the Warren Shamburg house in Burlington at 1209 Senter St. This was the family home while the children, Yvonne 15, Weldon 13, and Dennis 6 were growing up. In Feb. 1945 Vernon and Wreath opened a short order cafe just north of the Midway Theatre. It was called "Shorty's Palace". Shorty was the nickname he had acquired since coming to Burlington. The establishment was complete with up to the minute furnishings including inlaid linoleum, elaborate soda fountain, glass pastry case, chromium gas-heated coffee urn, leather booths and table tops of a new plastic called Formica. It also sported an ever popular nickleodean. It became a meeting place for the young people whom he loved. Shorty and Wreath did the The family had lived in several towns before coming to Colorado but once they hit Burlington, they stayed. All of Shorty and Wreath's three children and seven grand- children graduated from Burlington High School and all nine great grandchildren live in or near Burlington and attend Burlington schools. Yvonne manied Ewald Hartman and lives 10 miles SE, Weldon married Donna Ormsbee and is chief maintenance of RE6J schools, Dennis married Dianne Pappan and they have a paint and gift shop in Burlington. Vernon (Shorty) died following open heart surgery Sept. 11, 1968. Wreath still lives at 239 13th, the home they built in 1962. by Yvonne Vance Hartman VASSIOS FAMILY F7t7 William Vassios arrived in Flagler, in 1g06, while employed by the Union Pacific Railroad. Born in Messinia, Greece, in 1882, he came to America in 1902. He left home at a very young age in order to take advantage of the great opportunities that America had to offer. His employment with the railroad �piano, violin and accordion. Visits with friends and neighbors were enjoyed throughout the year. Among them were the Carl Bledsoe, Ellis Huntzman and Clark Wright families living south in the Boyero area. At other times the family The home and garden in 1928 attended a club called the Busy Bees'. There was always a large noon meal. The kids played games of all sorts, often times softball. Men enjoyed horse shoes and cards. Women visited, exchanged recipes, and quilted. Some of these families included; Bill Strodes, Newt and Nels Smiths, Bourquins, Rowlands, Kountzes, and the John and Arch Verhoeffs. The Jim Kountz family lived,2Vz miles away. They were close friends, one of the ties being "Mom and Pop" and one of the first cars in 1920 brought him west to Kansas City, Colorado, Idaho, and Nevada. He worked very hard and soon bec€rme a foreman, of which he was proud. In 1906. Bill decided to homestead 15 miles south ofFlagler but continued to work on the railroad for several more years while getting his homestead prepared for his future. In January of 1912 Bill Vassios and Pansy Drougas were mauied in Chicago, Illinois. Pansy was born in Sparta, Greece, in 1889. She had come to America as a young girl of 16 to live with her brother and work in a candy factory in Chicago. As a bride of 19, Pansy came to live with Bill on their homestead in a two room sod house. Existence on the sparsely populated prairie was extremely different from the city and active community life to which she was accustomed. One of the hardest experiences was the fact that they were not near a church. They lived too far from Flagler and their own Greek Orthodox Church was in Denver. This meant very little spiritual and social life, since their nearest neighbors were also miles away. The language barrier was another deterrent. The hardships were many, but they managed to rear and educate their seven children: Mrs. Alex Jamison( Anna) of Greeley, Colo., Mrs. Charles Mallo (Tressie) of Fort Collins, Colo., Mrs. Peter Tertipes (Marv) of Cheyenne, Wyo., George Vassios of Limon, Colo., Gus Vassios of Flagler, Colo., Mrs. Jack McCollum (Ansie) of Dallas, Texas, and Mrs. John Coryell (Daphne) of Flagler, Colo. Around L922 the family moved from the original homestead to the Stanger place, which was only a mile from the Texarado school. Walking and riding horseback to school was not always pleasant because ofthe snowstorms that frequented the area. One of the highlighLs for the Vassios family at this time was the fact that they were able to provide room and board for the young teachers who taught at Texarado. These were pleasant years because the lives of everyone were enriched and lifelong friendships built. children of the same or close age group. The great depression of the 1930's was a hard thing for the family to survive, as it was with practically everyone else. But the family survived because everyone helped with the chores. At one time, they were milking 30 to 40 milk cows twice a day. The cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, Iambs, and huge gardens kept food on the table. Bill made weekly trips to Flagler with a team of horses and a spring wagon to deliver and sell several cans full of cream and several cases of eggs for cash. One experience that the family will never forget took place on March 17,1923. We were fearful that Bill had perished in a fierce, untimely snowstorm which came up suddenly in the middle of the morning. It caused the whole herd of cattle to drift southward, just being taken along by the strong wind and blinding snow. Bill decided to try to find the cattle and turn them around, so he took off on his saddle horse. Several hours later, when the family had almost given up hope of Bill's return, his trusted saddle horse, Maude, came up to the front door with Bill sitting motionless, almost frozen to death. Icicles hung from his eyebrows, and he could not move nor speak, but God was with him and he soon returned to normal. The cattle all perished. One of the main goals of Bill and Pansy Vassios was to educate their family. Before his death, Bill had the promise of his grandchildren that they would get a good education and finish college if at all possible. They were very proud of the fact that all ten grandchildren accomplished that feat.This confirmed their belief that all things are possible in this great country. by Daphne Coryell VONDY - PAINTIN FAMILY F718 Dr. Powell worked for dad 2 summers during his college days, and became full time help after he graduated and later became a partner. We have been quite an active and close family, we are all members of the Methodist Church. Mom and Dad have both been Sunday school teachers and mom is secretary of the administrative board. We kids have After supper, the large round dining table enjoyed various activities through the church; camp, MYF, Sunday school, Bible was turned into a study table. When studies school, etc. were finished, the evenings entertainment usually included some type of music; singing, There are five children in our family: Diane, Curt, Gail, Terry, and Holly. Diane is a graduate of C.S.U. and is manager of a branch office for Mountain View Mortgage Co. She is married to Tim McNulty and they have a son Ryan Patrick, born Feb. 11, 1986. They make their home in Colorado Springs. Curt has had an adventuresome life. He attended C.S.U. for 21/z years, worked in oil fields in Montana and land leveling and plastics factory in Arizona. Gail attended dog grooming school and joined our clinic as groomer and operated her own business for 4 years, but felt that she was becoming allergic to the pet hair. She went to work as a horse-groom at Ted Simon/ Racing stable, and later started training for her dad. Terry is a graduate of C.S.U. with a Bachelors degree in Animal Science. Through his college years he spent 3 summers at Ruidoso Downs Racetrack as a groom for Ted Simon. Now he has several head of quarter horses and thoroughbreds that he enjoys training. My father, Milton Vondy, was born in Snyder, Colorado on March 6, L927, to Lawrence and Ollie Vondy. He attended Brush schools and later graduated from Brush High School. My Mother, Doris Paintin, was born at home on December 8, 1920, to George and Agnes Paintin. She attended country school at Solid Senter; transporta- tion was her old white mare, Daisy. She attended Stratton High School, and was active in dramatics and cheerleading. Dad came to Burlington in 1952, a graduate of Colorado A&M, Fort Collins, Co. with a degree in Veterinary Medicine. After visiting with the bankers, local farmers and the county agent, he decided to move to Burlington where he established his veterinary practice which kept him very busy and still does. My mother was employed at Standish Drug Store, when she met my dad. They were married at the Methodist Church in Burlington, in 1952. Mom has helped dad in the vet business since that time. Dad and mom's first home was the apartment above Milburn Jewelry Store. Then, they bought a home on 18th Street. Later they purchased five acres from Buols and built a house, barn and small animal shelter. In 1978 they sold our home and purchased the Vern Jones home 6 miles South of Bur- lington, where a quonset building was converted to a veterinary clinic and dad had lots of room for his horses. I, Holly the youngest and most spoiled (due to brothers and sisters) am active in 4-H. MYF, and school. I enjoy working on the annual staff, being on the flag corp, snow skiing, dating, and spending time with friends, especially my best friend Karla Pankratz. I also am interested in horse racing and have a colt at the track now. All of us kids have been in 4-H with quite a variety of projects and Mom and Dad have been leaders for many years. All of our 4-H years were spent with Sunshine 4-H club. Activities dad enjoys are golfing, horse racing, raising quarter horses, being a member of the Plains Rider Roping Club, which he helped organize, the Cattlemen's Associa- tion, Burlington Commercial Feedlot, and being Republican Precinct Committeeman. Mom has been a member of Modern Homemakers H.D. Club, for 31 years and B.P.W. for 8 years. She also enjoys Plains �shack in the North West part of Stratton. He then spent his time in the garage where the Kalb Brothers Walter and Kenneth had a mechanics shop. He enjoyed visiting with whoever had time to chat with him. They looked after him in his last years as he got to where he could hardly walk before he died. He is buried in Claremont Cemetery, Stratton, Colorado. He was 88 years old. by Dessie Cassity Book & Florence McConnell WALKER FAMILY F720 The Milton Vondy Family. Back row, L. to R.: GaiI, Diane, Curt and Terry. Front row, L. to R.: Doris, Hollv and Milton. Riders Roping Club, and horse racing. One of the biggest thrills for our family, was the running and winning streak of "Five Alive" in 1980. We had a family reunion at Ruidoso Downs. Ruidoso New Mexico. where we watched Five Alive run in the first leg of the triple crown ofquarter horses, the Kansas Futurity. As sometimes happens, saddness follows happiness. We found this to be very true when later in the fall, Five Alive was taken to Littleton Large Animal Clinic for surgery to remove bone chips from his knees; this brought about one of the saddest days of our lives, because while recovering he floun- dered and crushed his elbow and had to be taste like the smell of a sweaty horse. It was said many times in the old days that John Wagner was a real wizard in handling and breaking of wild horses. The brothers were asked to corral some wild horses for a friend in Cheyenne County. They made three attempts to corral them with no success. Finally were asked again and they showed up carrying rifles instead of ropes. Their next attempt at corraling the herd preceeded about as usual until they were nearing the corral gates. A big, beautiful l Forty-fifth Wedding Anniversary of Aubrey and Winnie Walker. Seated: Nina Lou Walker Ford. Aubrey Walker, Winnie Walker Lavon Walker Fisher Keeran. Standing: Pat Ford, Betty Walker, Art Fisher. Dale Walker. sorrel stallion broke back. Fred said he thought, as he saw the big beautiful horse breaking for safety, "I would sure hate to kill put to sleep. We are still running horses and dreaming of another Five Alive.! that horse if he was mine, but he has got to be stopped." He took aim and let him have by Holly Vondy to see if he was branded. and damned if he WAGNER FAMILY F7r9 Two brothers, Fred and John Wagner, moved into Kit Carson County from Cheyenne County, Nebraska, in 1903. They brought with them about seven hundred head of horses. John took a homestead about eight miles south of Stratton, where they made their head quarters for sometime. The government land was all open, so their horses' pasture was almost boundless. There were a good many wild horses in this area at that time and they caused the Wagner brothers considerable trouble. The Brothers at last got permission form the State Govern- ment of Colorado to shoot the wild stallions when ever they were caught stealing mares. The brothers were also given permission to catch, brand and break any of these wild it. Later Fred said I rode out to look him over wasn't my own horse. Later there is not much known about John Wagner as he left the county, but Fred remained and continued to run horses for some time. Fred was known in his day to be quite a booser. But he was a kind and neighborly man. As little girls, Denise and Barbara Wilson remember hiding behind some weeds in a fence row until he would pass so he would not see them and pick them up when they were walking home from school. In the early 40's Fred moved to a quarter of land he purchased and built himself a small rock house which still stands on the property. Boots Wilson looked after Fred in those years. He would go to town and get all boosed up and then Boots would see him stopped out across the open prairie and he would go get him and take him home. He was a good neighbor, always helping ponies that they desired. Fred Wagner told me, that they tried some when needed. In a bad blizzard in November 1946, he went out to see about a bunch of cattle Boots had at his place and got down in the storm and he had to crawl to the house. He risked his life but managed to save the horse steaks from some ofthe wild horses that cattle. they killed. They never relished horse steak, He later sold his property to Boots and moved into town where he lived in a one room as it always seemed to have a sweet, sweaty Lavington Garage, Flagler, Colorado; Early 1920's to 1960. Leon Lavington was the son of W.H. Lavington, who was one of Flaglers early settlers (prior to 1900). W.H. Lavington started Flaglers first general store and later the First National Bank. Wayne Aubrey Walker, born August 24, 1886, in Worth County Missouri, was the son of Marvin E. & Susan O. Marvin Walker was the son of Warner & Ruth Ann of North Carolina. The father of Warner was Daniel Walker who was the son of Davis Walker. who was born about 1770 in North Carolina. W. Aubrey Walker was schooled at Denver, Missouri, and went to business school at St. Joseph, Missouri. The Walker family moved to Springfield, Missouri, in 1906 where Aubrey worked in the accounting department of the Frisco Railroad. In 1908, Aubrey set out to fulfill a dream, that of securing a homestead near Steamboat Springs, Colo- � 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- T, U, & V Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1988 Description An account of the resource Brief histories of founding families of Kit Carson County whose names begin with "T," "U" and "V." As found 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 Biography Kit Carson County 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/17/509/Families-W1.pdf 71b3355289d29c67d97635269f5cbd85 PDF Text Text shack in the North West part of Stratton. He then spent his time in the garage where the Kalb Brothers Walter and Kenneth had a mechanics shop. He enjoyed visiting with whoever had time to chat with him. They looked after him in his last years as he got to where he could hardly walk before he died. He is buried in Claremont Cemetery, Stratton, Colorado. He was 88 years old. by Dessie Cassity Book & Florence McConnell WALKER FAMILY F720 The Milton Vondy Family. Back row, L. to R.: GaiI, Diane, Curt and Terry. Front row, L. to R.: Doris, Hollv and Milton. Riders Roping Club, and horse racing. One of the biggest thrills for our family, was the running and winning streak of "Five Alive" in 1980. We had a family reunion at Ruidoso Downs. Ruidoso New Mexico. where we watched Five Alive run in the first leg of the triple crown ofquarter horses, the Kansas Futurity. As sometimes happens, saddness follows happiness. We found this to be very true when later in the fall, Five Alive was taken to Littleton Large Animal Clinic for surgery to remove bone chips from his knees; this brought about one of the saddest days of our lives, because while recovering he floun- dered and crushed his elbow and had to be taste like the smell of a sweaty horse. It was said many times in the old days that John Wagner was a real wizard in handling and breaking of wild horses. The brothers were asked to corral some wild horses for a friend in Cheyenne County. They made three attempts to corral them with no success. Finally were asked again and they showed up carrying rifles instead of ropes. Their next attempt at corraling the herd preceeded about as usual until they were nearing the corral gates. A big, beautiful l Forty-fifth Wedding Anniversary of Aubrey and Winnie Walker. Seated: Nina Lou Walker Ford. Aubrey Walker, Winnie Walker Lavon Walker Fisher Keeran. Standing: Pat Ford, Betty Walker, Art Fisher. Dale Walker. sorrel stallion broke back. Fred said he thought, as he saw the big beautiful horse breaking for safety, "I would sure hate to kill put to sleep. We are still running horses and dreaming of another Five Alive.! that horse if he was mine, but he has got to be stopped." He took aim and let him have by Holly Vondy to see if he was branded. and damned if he WAGNER FAMILY F7r9 Two brothers, Fred and John Wagner, moved into Kit Carson County from Cheyenne County, Nebraska, in 1903. They brought with them about seven hundred head of horses. John took a homestead about eight miles south of Stratton, where they made their head quarters for sometime. The government land was all open, so their horses' pasture was almost boundless. There were a good many wild horses in this area at that time and they caused the Wagner brothers considerable trouble. The Brothers at last got permission form the State Govern- ment of Colorado to shoot the wild stallions when ever they were caught stealing mares. The brothers were also given permission to catch, brand and break any of these wild it. Later Fred said I rode out to look him over wasn't my own horse. Later there is not much known about John Wagner as he left the county, but Fred remained and continued to run horses for some time. Fred was known in his day to be quite a booser. But he was a kind and neighborly man. As little girls, Denise and Barbara Wilson remember hiding behind some weeds in a fence row until he would pass so he would not see them and pick them up when they were walking home from school. In the early 40's Fred moved to a quarter of land he purchased and built himself a small rock house which still stands on the property. Boots Wilson looked after Fred in those years. He would go to town and get all boosed up and then Boots would see him stopped out across the open prairie and he would go get him and take him home. He was a good neighbor, always helping ponies that they desired. Fred Wagner told me, that they tried some when needed. In a bad blizzard in November 1946, he went out to see about a bunch of cattle Boots had at his place and got down in the storm and he had to crawl to the house. He risked his life but managed to save the horse steaks from some ofthe wild horses that cattle. they killed. They never relished horse steak, He later sold his property to Boots and moved into town where he lived in a one room as it always seemed to have a sweet, sweaty Lavington Garage, Flagler, Colorado; Early 1920's to 1960. Leon Lavington was the son of W.H. Lavington, who was one of Flaglers early settlers (prior to 1900). W.H. Lavington started Flaglers first general store and later the First National Bank. Wayne Aubrey Walker, born August 24, 1886, in Worth County Missouri, was the son of Marvin E. & Susan O. Marvin Walker was the son of Warner & Ruth Ann of North Carolina. The father of Warner was Daniel Walker who was the son of Davis Walker. who was born about 1770 in North Carolina. W. Aubrey Walker was schooled at Denver, Missouri, and went to business school at St. Joseph, Missouri. The Walker family moved to Springfield, Missouri, in 1906 where Aubrey worked in the accounting department of the Frisco Railroad. In 1908, Aubrey set out to fulfill a dream, that of securing a homestead near Steamboat Springs, Colo- �activities. Dale has served numerous terms as a director in the Rural Electric Program. In 1985, Dale & Betty retired, having sold the i .,: t,.1 :::taii.,.t Hrs :ti.:i,:.: business to their sons. rarjr1.r:;:rl:ir.;. Dale A. Walker, Jr. and John K. Walker thus became the seventh generation of the recorded Walker family and fourth generation Coloradoans. , by Dale A. Walker l1{{1?tii.:?ii::1i:ll,l;.r", WALL FAMILY *m.t* rigr**i.,Lird?. 'i, Flagler Hospital. Family owned and operated Hospital by Dr. W.L. and.Zeta McBride, and Dr. John and Marie Straub from 1935 to 1963. Today the building is owned by the town of Flagler, used as town Municipal Building and Town Library. gave years of service through such organiza- tions as the First Congregational Church, the Eastern Star, Flagler Women's Club, and Kit Carson County Hospital Board. Winnie passed away June 4, 196L, at Flagler, and Aubrey died October 25, 1981, in Hugo, Colorado. The Walker children grew up in the Flagler community and attended the Flagler Schools. The youngest, Nina Lou married Pat Ford. They reared four children, Tony, Kristie, Jill and Lanny. Nina Lou & Pat throughout their lives have been active in the Flagler Community. For many years they operated the Stop & Shop Super Market. Later Pat became Stop and Shop Market, Flagler, Colorado. Store began in late 1951 by owners Dale Walker and Pat Ford. In 1959 Walker and Ford bought and remodeled the former Lavington Ford Garage Building to house the present Store, now owned by Tony Ford. rado, where he hoped to ranch. Due to circumstance, he stopped off at Seibert Colorado, where he was attracted to a quarter section of land some 12 miles north of Seibert. He filed for his homestead in that location. On August 15, 1915, Aubrey was married to Winnie A. Anderson, at Flagler, Colorado. To this marriage four children were born - Dale as a Aubrey, K. Lavon, Helen O. (who died small child) and Nina Lou. In addition to farming, Aubrey served as a county road supervisor during the early 1920's. In t927, following the death of Winnie's father, the Walkers moved to the associated with the 1st National Bank of Flagler, heading up the insurance agency and acting as one ofthe directors. They have been a part of Eastern Slope Rural Telephone where Pat has acted as a director. Lavon Fisher Keeran raised her two children, Wanda Sue & Ab in the Flagler Community. Lavon was active in the activities of the school and community. For many years she was employed at the Stop & Shop Market. Lavon moved to Colorado Springs where she and her husband Wilbur were employed until their retirement in 1983. Dale Aubrey Walker, was born in 1920 at the sod house home of his maternal grandparents, the C.J. Andersons, eight miles northwest of Flagler. Dale is the sixth generation of the recorded Walker family. Following school Dale spent five years in the army during WWII. During this time he met and married Eda Betty Newland of Seattle, Washington. To this marriage two sons were born, Dale A. Jr., and John K. Dale & Betty, along with Nina Lou & Pat Ford established C.J. Anderson Homestead 8 miles northwest of Flagler where they operated the Diamond- the Stop & Shop Market at Flagler in October, 1951. Later Dale & Betty estab- Bar-A Black Angus Ranch. Later they purchased a farm-ranch joining the Anderson Ranch. In 1943, Aubrey & Winnie sold their lished two additional Flagler businesses, the Walker-Love Funeral Home and High Plains Sales, Inc. Dale & Betty were active in many Flagler activities through such organizations as the Congregational Church, youth programs, Town Board, Lions Club, County Hospital Board, and the Flagler Medical Center. In 1966, Dale & Betty purchased a food store in Limon, Colorado, and developed it into Limon Super Foods. In addition to their continued involvement in community farm holdings and moved to Flagler. Aubrey became bookkeeper for the Chewolet dealership and continued in this position past his 85th birthday. Aubrey & Winnie were active in county and community functions throughout their lives, including a lifetime of leadership by Aubrey in the Democratic Political Partv. Winnie F72l Lohnnie and Phyllis Wall were married March 27, L965, in Goodland, Kansas. We spent the first six years together farming northeast of Burlington where our two boys, Eric and Cory, were born. In 1971 we bought the Bill Schaal place south of Bethune. We farmed there until 1980 when we sold it and moved to Burlington as Johnnie had gone into the trucking business. Our third son, Tanner, was born there in 1979. We were foster parents to fifteen children for 7 years. We now live in Bethune and Lohnnie is still trucking. by Phyllis Wall WALLET AND WINTER FAMILIES F722 The Cattlemen's Association of Kit Carson County, Colorado, asked me to recall events and history of early days, and especially the Wallet Post Office, of which my father, Alfred Wallet, was the Postmaster during its entirety. The post office was opened on April 8, 1890, and discontinued on May 15, 1909. Before this date of April 8, 1890, my older brother, Fred carried mail from our community to Carlisle, south, and back twice a week on horseback. Peconic is now near where Carlisle stood; it was later absorbed by Kanorado and Burlington, after the Rock Island railroad came through. Kanorado used to be Lamborn; Kanorado, a contraction of Kansas and Colorado, is one half mile from stateline dividing these two states. Later, the mail route was formed and another office, Ashland, northeast of Wallet, was added. A Mr. Seifert carried the mail for a while, then Mr. Teaman, father of Henry and the late Charles Teaman of Burlington and Mrs. Lester Sheldon of Kanorado, carried the mail for several years with horses and buggy. All our neighbors always gathered at our home on Tuesday and Friday afternoons to visit and wait for the mail. The Ashland Post Office was later moved to the George Pratt home and I believe was discontinued at the same time as was the Wallet P.O. My father Alfred Wallet was born in Paris, France, April 25, 1840. He was eight years old when his parents arrived in America, where they first settled in New Orleans, Louisiana, in a French settlement; later, they moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where his father took out naturalization papers. Two other children were born there, Paul and Addie. My mother was born near Basco, Illinois, �on March 27, L842. Her maiden name was Margaret Ann Fleming and she was a descendant of Roger Williams of American Colonial fame. There she grew to womanhood, taught school until married to Alfred Wallet on July 2, 1869. Three children were born to this union - Fred, Maurice and Belle. My brothers were born in Illinois. The family finally moved to Schuyler, Nebraska, where I was born April 11, 1883. The altitude was low and climate damp; since mother and Fred suffered from asthma, my father came west to find a drier climate. After filing homestead rights on SW %, 9-7 -42, he returned home to Nebraska and the following April, moved the family by immigrant train as far as Haigler, Nebraska. The freight car contained household goods, 8 cows, 6 horses, chickens, geese and hogs, some farm implements and some lumber. More lumber was purchased in Haigler. We arrived at the homestead site, by following the old stagecoach route, which ran between Haigler, Nebraska and Cheyenne Wells, Colorado; said road being three quarters of a mile from our homestead. On arrival, we found that most homesteaders lived in sod houses or dugouts, so we finally built a sod house somewhat larger than most found in the vicinity. We even had a wooden floor and most earlier settlers had tamped earthen floors. by Bell Winter grow very rich. Our house, being larger than most houses nearby, was the meeting place for Sunday School, literacy and singing school. So, people came to our home, from miles around, all lonesome and needful of some social life. Later, when the school district was formed, the meetings were held there and also church services; a union church and Sunday School. Rev. Willis from down near Peconic or old Carlysle, held services at the new sod schoolhouse one half mile south of our home. Rev. Hackenberger from a farm southwest of us, also preached there; finally a Methodist Church was started and ministers from Burlington came out to preach; Rev. Yersin was a well remembered one. My first teacher was a Miss Doty. There was a dugout south and west of our place, where school was held there during the summer months. The next teacher was Viola Campbell, who later married Dr. Gillette. During Miss Doty's term, I remember an awful rain and hail storm. She gathered all of us in one corner of the room, with all of us crying, as was she also; I think I remember this so vividly because my first reader was ruined from the hail breaking the window and rain beating into and on the desk. Abraham McElfresh was the first teacher after our school house was built. He later married and was the father of our local citizens Milton and Stewart McElfresh of Kanorado. There was no railroad when we moved to Colorado; the old stagecoach trail was north- WALLET AND WINTER FAMILIES F723 I remember before the house was built, when we were still living in a small shack and covered wagon, we had some very heavy rains, mother and Fred were extremely sick until the rains stopped. No barns to shelter the stock and one horse choked to death from west of our home about three quarters mile toward Cheyenne Wells. The last buffalo killed in Kit Carson County was killed about one mile northwest of home on old stage trail, about one year after we moved on claim. When sickness came to the settlers near home, mother was nearly always called, along with Dr. Gandy or Dr. Gillette; if it were a confinement, my Aunt Mary would then be called to take care of babv and home for a couple of weeks. distemper, during the rain. Having cattle and other stock presented a great problem for by Bell Winter water, which had to be hauled by wagon and barrels from a pay well, owned by Mr. Messinger. He lived where the James Farm is now. Making a trip of ten miles or more each day, and being a bucket well - one bucket up and the other down - by hand, was not an easy task. Mother and Fred did this most of the time, while father, with neighbors helping built our sod house. A sod cutter was used to cut the virgin sod, and laid up like brick, but no mortar was put between, as the grass on sod filled in. Finally the well was begun. John Messinger, a well digger, dug ours, with father helping; very few homesteaders had a well at that time; some or all hauled, as we had done. Later, the ones who stayed to prove up on their homesteads dug wells. Since father had a well and a windmill, he pastured cattle and watered them now, at home. We had no fences those days, and so my younger brother, Maurice, and my Aunt Mary Fleming, mother's sister, had to herd the cattle. So many single men had homesteads near us, and mother did washing and ironing and baked bread, and made butter and sold chickens and eggs to them, to help eke out a living; by the way eggs were 7 cents per dozen and butter 19 cents per pound, so she didn't WALLET AND WINTER FAMILIES F724 seemed eternally grateful for the privileges of that citizenship. Mr. Hawthorne was the second person to pass away and was buried near the Hook claims. In a diary, kept by my mother, she recalls that his wife and daughter came to mother and they all made paper flowers for Mr. Hawthorne's casket . . so went the lives of the earlier settlers. This plot, where he was buried, is now called Beaver Valley Cemetery and is located north of Emil Stalgren's home. Father was County Commissioner in the '90's. During those years when crop failures were so bad, many moved away. Others who stayed on were sent aid from Colorado Springs. This aid was county wide, and out in our part of the county, our home was distribution station of such aid, mostly in the form of boxes of used clothing and such. Women came and helped make over clothes and used mother's sewing machine. Flour and food were also sent to county for distribution. Mother kept a dairy from 1890 to 1895. She kept temperature and rainfall and direction ofwind every day for five years. Father had a government rain gauge all the years he had the post office, but of course all reports were sent to Washington, D.C. each month. After Beaver Valley Schoolhouse was built, Rev. Thompson who lived just north of our home, held services there and also farther north in the Buchanan and Cody neighborhood. I remember a baptizing one half mile north of the school house in a stock tank owned by a Mr. Swallow (where Reuben Anderson now lives). A girl named Eliza Myers, rather well proportioned for size, was helped into the tank. Rev. Thompson was an older man and quite thin; when the time came for the actual baptism and the Reverend attempted to dip her into the water, she struggled and drew him under. Hysteria followed as the crowd rescued the Minister - such memories! One winter, there was an outbreak of scarlet fever, one family lost four children and there were many more deaths throughout the county. Mother was called to Charlie Peterson's who lived across the school section from us, where Earl James now lives. Emma, a girl of twelve, died from complications of the disease. My mother was there for many days, because all of the family was stricken. I recall that as the funeral procession was on its way to Kanorado, a fire which had started at Salma Shaw's broke out of control and was burning down near the road. The first death near us was Hattie Rook. She, a sister Florence and brother Alfred, staked claims cornering each other. One claim was located in the section we lived in. They had built a house on one corner of land and lived together. She died oftyphoid fever. My father drove to Burlington for a casket. F.D. Mann kept caskets also in his hardware store. Father mortgaged his team and wagon for $50.00 for the casket. Mr. Rook came the next day from her home in Kansas and released mortgage, and took the body of his daughter back home for burial. My parents were never known to turn their backs on anyone's need when they were able to perform some act of kindness. A medicine man or moving van, or anyone traveling across country always found hospitality in food or lodging or both, if necessary. My father was extremely proud that he was an American citizen, though born in France and WALLET AND WINTER FAMILIES F725 The procession had to race their teams, since the fire was moving so fasttoward them. Later, the neighborhood helped Mr. Shaw build another barn, which had burned that day having caught fire from a manure pile igniting, burning back to the building, thence to the road. Another neighbor was the Seaman farnily, composed of Mary, Linda and younger sister Maggie, brothers Will and Tom. A younger brother, Myrtie, died from typhoid fever while on the farm. The father was almost blind. but he used to walk four miles to our �place for the mail and he lived to be almost one hundred years old. In later years, due to so many coyotes, the men hunted them on horseback, in wagons and carts, for bounty money, received from the county for the pelts. The revenue was used for oyster suppers, usually held at Link White's, the men prepared the soup or stew, and girls served and washed dishes. May, Minnie, Earl, Laura and one more whose name I can't recall, were all nearly grown, and their parents were always charming hosts. Andrew Love, younger brother ofJacob Love, one time played the harmonica for our crowd to dance to, because the fiddlers didn't arrive. He was ill for several days afterward, because we danced so long and wore him out completely. In 1920, father sold the farm and moved to Kanorado, where in 1923 mother passed away at the age of81. Father died in 1926, aged 86. My personal family consists of a daughter, Irene Nutting, Holbrook, Arizona, and two sons, George Winter and Wayne Winter, both of Kanorado, Kansas, ten grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren. by Bell Winter WALSTROM McCALMON FAMILY F726 The Walstrom story started in Sweden when in 1871 a boy of fifteen, Charlie Carlson, left home as a stowaway on a ship headed for New York. He was discovered at mid-sea and given work for his board, then turned loose when he landed. After several years of working numerous places, he settled at Swedehome, Nebraska, working for others and sending for his brother and two sisters. Then in 1890. Charlie sent a ticket to Hilda Carlson, a girl his sisters knew but was only horses. It was hard work and his health later told of it. In 1933, Clarence and Velma McCalmon were married in Goodland, Kansas, and began their married life on a farm thirteen miles south of Burlington known as the "Hawthorne Big White Barn" place. They lived there four years and then moved to the McCalmon farm two miles north and one mile east, living there for twenty-five years. Clarence and Velma became the parents of two sons, and two daughters. The daughters died at birth. The sons are Charles and Dean (Hoss). They are both married and have five children and one granddaughter. Clarence, Velma, Charles, and Dean (Hoss) all attended our good old Smoky Hill School at one time. Velma, Charles, and Dean (Hoss), and four of the grandchildren also attended Burlington High School. Velma and Clarence moved to Burlington in 1962. At that time. Clarence's health failed and he passed away in 1976 after a long fight with cancer. Maurice and Olla McCalmon, who were of Scottish-German descent, came to Colorado in 1928 from Almena, Kansas, in Norton County. They had been earlier settlers in Cheyenne County, Kansas in 1906. They had a family of four sons and three daughters. Velma McCalmon Walstrom was the middle child of the McCalmons and was the only one that remained in Kit Carson County. The McCalmons bought the farm l2t/z miles south of Burlington, better known as "South Eighth Street", living there until 1938 when the drought and depression made every one move out. Clarence and Velma Walstrom moved on the McCalmon place, Iater buying it and then selling it to their sons, Charles and Dean (Hoss). In 1982, Dean (Hoss) sold his share to Charles and Roberta. It has been in the Walstrom-McCalmon family since 1927 for a total of 60 years. There has been a lot of changes in the a crawling baby when Charlie bid his parents countryside with neighbors and friends coming and going. The town has grown but the biggest change was the planting of the trees. good-bye twenty years before. Prior to sending for Hilda, he went to court and had his by Mrs. Ted Eberhart name changed from Carlson to Walstrom. The price of the ticket was $49.30 from Kaknlan, Sweden, to Osocala, Nebraska, but at that time it was like a thousand dollars now. Charles and Hilda were married in 1891 and were the happy parents of six children, three sons and three daughters. They went through lots ofhardships as all people ofthat time did. WALTERS - SHAW FAMILY The following are excerpts pieced together from a diary kept by Samuel Penn, a rado, buying a section of land three west and childhood chum of Albert Walters, when the two young men traveled together to eastern Colorado in a covered wagon in 1886 from Lowder, Illinois; from letters written between 1890-94 by Mrs. Albert (Leila Shaw) Walters; from memories typed up by their daughter, Mabel Parke, and from material gathered or written by her friend, Avis Bader Schritter, married by then. The oldest son, Julius, was in World War I, and sons, Elmer and Clarence, came with them to Burlington. Clarence went to country school in people's homes as there wasn't yet any schoolhouse in that part of the country. Later Elmer was called to the service so Clarence was left at home to help his father with the farming and cattle. That was when this was open cattle country. Long days were spent riding the range, rounding up cattle. The cowboys were real, not the "drugstore" ones of today. As the country changed, so did the style of the people. Clarence beco-e a farmer and cattleman and worked on a lot of eommittees for the betterment of the community. He also worked for years as a road builder with his . . (Sept. 3) near Stratton, Neb . . . camped . in the midst of a Prairiedog town . wolves, rattlesnakes, prairie dogs, owls, and bugs . . . (Sept. 7-9) Kingston, Colorado (north of Burlington) We crossed the south fork ofthe Republican. . drove around the prairie, the duce only knows where. There was no road . . so we had to. . guess . . Albert wanted to go one way and I wanted to go another . . We ate dinner out in the open prairie, not a track ofany kind . . lots of nice land today. We saw quite a number of wolves, wild horses and antelope. Finally saw a house . . water for our horses and camped seven miles from Elberton . . (Sept. 11) Burlington, Elbert County, Colo. Got up at 4:30 . . . and started to select -Tree Claims . . . We traveled over acres and acres of as fine plowland as anyone ever saw . saw many (new) things. . . The mirage . of the plains . . . Buffalo bones bleached white in the sun lay scattered thickly over the prairies . . . Not a house to be seen after we left the settlement . . . (Sunday, Sept. 12) We did not intend to break the Sabbath but were compelled to travel some . . . We had not yet labored six days, so we had to travel today and rest tomorrow drove to Kingston, arriving at 2:15 A.M. . . . but we wanted to get the papers on our Tree Claims started to Denver so . . drove in the night . . . (Sept. 17) At Home! We arrived "at home" today about 9:00 A.M. with our load of provisions and lumber. After hauling some water, we cooked our first meal on our new stove. It burns Agots splendidly and bakes well. After eating dinner, we went to work on Albert's house but got little done. I am now sitting in his "Sitting Room" writing this. The room has no top to it, other than the wagon sheet, stretched over a hole in the ground. This makes quite a comfortable house for Colorado. (Sept. 18) We have been at work all day on Albert's house and have not yet got it completed. Our stove is out of doors yet and every time we cook we have to turn the stove around for the wind changes forty times every day and blows forty times harder than it does in any other state I have been in . . . (Dec. 31) Kingston, Colo. I am sitting in my parlor which is nice and warm. Have been building my barn today. Albert is inHaigler (Neb.). . . Julyg, 1887. . . Well, Albert, if you can read this you will do very well . . . we will someday look over this with pleasure. F.727 In 1916, they came to Burlington, Colo- three south of town. Their daughters were . copied by Irene Willcox and edited by Georgeanna Hudson Grusing. "We (Albert and I) started Tuesday (Aug. 3, 1886). The first day we traveled about 20 miles . . . (Aug. 20) We traveled 30 or 35 miles today, camping within about 10 miles from Wymore, Neb. . . We passed through Pawnee County. The land . . . is rich and rolling . . . (Aug. 29-30) Bloomington, Neb . . . traveled up the Republican River all day. Had good road . . Saw very fine country. Very Truly your Friend, Samuel Penn" (Apparently Penn made a copy of his diary and sent it to Albert, who had moved on, soon taking out a homestead 10 miles SE of Burlington, later increasing his holdings to 5000 acres and running Aberdeen Angus cattle on his ranch.) "Dear Grandpa and Grandma (grandparents of Leila). We always try to go to town every Saturday so as to get the mail. That way we have something to read on Sunday . . . the mail is very uncertain due to a strike . . Bur- lington did not have any coal, sugar, salt, soap, and a good many other necessities, but the freights are running now. . . . Owing to the drought many people have left the country . . One man . . . went by moonlight . . . left his cattle and farm machinery that were mortgaged . . . His horses were so poor that they had to be helped up and one died the next morning . . There �are twenty-five families on the county for support now and if they keep on increasing, the county will be bankrupt by spring. WALTERS, LErLA SHAW . . . Yes we enjoyed our trip very much. We were gone five weeks . . . We started Monday, Sept,3 (from Burlington) and arrived in Colorado Springs the following Monday . . . We had a covered wagon and a gasoline stove to cook on . . very convenient . There were so many people going west. Sometimes we would get in a wagon train of 5-10 moving wagons, they were so thick . . . Peyton is potato country. . . . We se-ped . . . in the west part of town near the street car connecting the Springs with Colorado City and Manitou . . . went horseback up Ute Pass to Cascade . . . up Old Pikes Peak wagon road, 3-4 miles, but it seemed ten, it was so fearfully steep . . . light air affected us all. . . . back to the Springs and then to Denver, a four day drive over hilly roads . . . we camped on 31st and Stout Street . From Denver to Greeley (a two day drive) . . . to Fort Morgan, a desolate country Saw many range cattle . . . over a thousand in one herd . . . The cowboys are not the rough characters which the newspapers report them, but all that I saw and have met are genteel and appear very nice in society. From Fort Morgan . . . to Haigler, Nebraska, we met 15-30 wagons every day going west . . . From Haigler we came across the corner of Cheyenne County, Kansas . . to Kings- ton, Colorado, forty miles north of Burlington, where Albert had some land . . . I liked the country there . . But it is 27 miles to any store and I should hate to have to spend two days to go after a spool of thread or a paper of pins. So I guess we will not move for the present. . . We were glad to get home after five weeks . . Write often. for we always enjoy your letters. Lovingly Yours, Leila I. Walters Mabel remembered, "When I was nine . . the folks got me a new three quarter sized bed . . . My dresser was two large cracker boxes . . My grandmother had papered (her) stair wall with magazine paper and I would sit on the stairs and read them . . . We didn't have curtain rods for years, just used strings. Prairie fires were numerous . . we had smelled smoke for a few days . . . I looked out and there it was burning over east of us . . Papa went in west and backfired . . . It came within one half mile of our buildings and on east to the Kansas line. . . There were many rattlesnakes . . we had 3-4 (horses) bitten at one time . . . folks said they could tell which was #1, 2, 3, from the poison they had. . . About 1898 or 1899 a number of people had typhoid fever from the old wooden tubing rotting in their wells . . . We got telephones about 1902 . . . mail delivery . . sometime in the 1920's. In 1908, when Mabel was about 16, her mother passed on from a lingering illness. Mabel kept house for her father for many years until he died in 1936 (aged 74) nearly fifty years after first homesteading here. Thus ended the Albert Walters-Leila Shaw union, one of the first pioneer families in the Burlington area. by Georgeanna Hudson Grusing F728 Leila Shaw Walters was born April 6, 1875, in Nickelson County Penn., and died in Springfield, Ill., June 22, 1908. She moved with her parents Mr. and Mrs. Dana Shaw to Colorado in 1887. Leila attended high school in Goodland, Ks., in 1890 and the preparatory at Denver in 1900. She was married to Albert Walters, Dec. 14, 1901. For several years, she was a teacher in the schools of Kit Carson County. She was faithful in the duties of her vocation. attending the institutes and associations, availing herself of all aids for advancement. Never Charles Henry Ward II had come to us in Jan. of L947. We moved from Redding, Calif. with just one pickup loaded with our belongings. We arrived in the snow and cold and had to clean out the chimney before we could build a fire in the old coal stove in the kitchen. Elvin went to a farm sale a week later and bought enough furniture for us to get by comfortably until we got a good start in the farming. We raised wheat, feed crops and pastured cattle. We had good crops some years and bad years as far as making money goes, but we loved the outdoor life and enjoyed the animals that we had - cats, dogs, chickens, and the cattle. Over the years our family grew. Linda Sue came to our home in 1949, Elden Paul in 1953 and Daniel Lee in 1959. In 1952 when electricity came to the farms strong she was watched and guarded as a frail treasure by fond parents and a loving hus- in our area, we put in a new well with a pressure pump and piped water into the band untiring in devotion and care. house. Also with great thought and work we remodeled the house, adding another couple another distinguishing characteristic was bedrooms, a bathroom and new kitchen. In the years we lived on the farm in Kit Carson County, from 1947 through 1964 we remember the terrible dirt storms of the fifties. Also we remember the enjoyable times we had with our neighbors and the many card parties and family gatherings we attended. Reliving those years bring back memories. In March of 1960 Elvin had suffered a bad heart attack. so when the doctors told him to leave the farm we moved to Limon in 1964. Here Elvin became the manager of Limon Farm Equipment (John Deere). He and Alice had worked together as Manager and Bookkeeper for 11 years, when Elvin's second heart attack took him in May of 1976. But our years in Kit Carson County on the farm were ones we loved. This farm is now owned by the Richie's - Jim, Lavone and their sons Dean and Robin and families. They run a dairy as She was helpmate to her husband and manifested in the care and rearing of her daughter. by Editors WARD, ELVIN E. F729 After World War II. Elvin Ellis Ward decided to return to farming. He had been involved in farming all his life for he had been born on the family farm near Satanta, Kansas in 1918. Elvin had gone into the service early in 1941. He signed into the new 10th Moun- tain Infantry Division in November 1941. After training in Fort Lewis, Washington and Paradise Valley near Mt. Rainier, he was to be sent to Camp Hale, at Pando, Colorado. We met in Beverly Hills, Calif. in Sept., 1941. Our dating was interrupted by the attack on Pearl Harbor. Elvin and Alice M. Onley were married in December of L942. While Elvin was stationed in Camp Hale, high in the Colorado Rockies, Alice lived in Glenwood Springs. Elvin was sent with his division, the 87th, to the Aleutian Islands where they took Kiska Island. Alice worked in a bank in well as farm much land around the area, south of Seibert and north and south of Flagler. They have built some new buildings and made many changes. Alice was remarried in 1982 to Ben Raines, cattle buyer and seller in Lincoln County. by Alice M. Ward Raines Westwood Village, Calif., while he was gone. When he returned to the States we were again WARRINGTON, in Camp Hale. Alice lived in Leadville until the transfer to Fort Hood. Texas. From there the 10th Mountain Inf. was sent to Italy. When the war was finally over, Elvin was released to come home in Sept. of 1945. He joined Alice and baby daughter, Margaret in Garden City, Kansas. While Elvin tried several jobs in Kansas and California, he decided that the farm was the place for him. So he came to Eastern Colorado and finally purchased the farm known as the 'Old Conarty Place". It was located 10 miles south and 3 west of Seibert. Colo. This farm had been homesteaded in the early part ofthe 1900's. The old adobe house had walls 18" thick, and was divided into three rooms, bedroom, livingroom and kitchen. It had an old sink with a hand pump in the kitchen, added in the 1930's, and had cement block walls added to the outside of the house and stuccoed in the 40's. The only bathroom was at the end ofthe path near the huge old barn. By the time we moved in in Dec. 1947 there were four of us, as a son ADELINE F730 Adeline Warrington was born in Clarence Center, New York on October 4, 1884, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob A. Garehime, who came to Colorado and homesteaded northwest of Stratton in 1906. Adeline was four when they moved to Allen, Nebraska. Then they moved to Kit Carson County and in 1906 she homesteaded northwest of Stratton where she continued to live for many years. Adeline had a daughter, Margaret, better known as Peggy. Peggy attended Stratton School and graduated from Stratton High School. Many can recall the many times Adeline walked to town from her home and marveled at the hard work she did to maintain the farmstead. In her later years she spent part of the time in Denver and in Longmont. She passed away at the Foot Hills Nursing Home �Federated Women's Club, the Burlington Branch of American Association of University Women, Burlington Extension }Iome- in Longmont at age 87 in 1971. She is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery. makers, Gamma Phi Beta sorority, and Comet Rebekah Lodge. She was also a by Editors lifetime member of the National A-;sociation of Extension Home Economists, and the Colorado State University Alun ni Association. She enjoyed reading, sewing, knitting, WATERS, STEVE, WILLIAM AND ROBERT collecting antique glassware, gardening, and traveling. Just fifty years after her trip to northern France she again visited some ofthe areas in which she had demonstrated 4-H canning. She also traveled in Alaska, the Caribbean, and many European countries. Bertha Boger Wear was born on February 15. 1904 and died on October 25.1987. F73r Steven Waters and his wife, my great grandparents, William Waters and his wife, my grandparents, Robert Waters, and wife, my great-uncle, all came from Humbolt, Nebr. in the very southeast corner of the by Irene Boger state. They took two 160 acres homesteads, eight miles west of Colby, Kan. in 1886. William Waters plowed with oxen and a walking plow, later they had horses and WEAVER, JIM AND JOSIE mules. They herded the cattle, for Kansas is a herd state. They sold cream and eggs, had goats and hogs. By 1917, the William Waters F733 family had all modern farm buildings, running water and a 32 volt light plant. The Rock Island R.R. put a side track in to load wheat on. My grandmother picked geese and made feather beds and pillows. Grandma lived only 63 years. We thought for one thing she worked too hard. I have 2 pictures of a sod house where my grandmother ran the post office in Levant, Kan. Cora Waters lived,24 yrs, died April 1924. Floyd Waters lived 30 yrs. died April, 1928. William Waters lived about 84 yrs. Ventie Waters lived 90 yrs. Aunt Fern was 83 in 1984, and still is going. N.R. Waters proved up on 320 acres, less than Vz mile south of the south line of Kit Carson County. N. R. Waters lived 73 yrs. Our mother, Nettie Waters King, lived to be 91, passed away April, 1982. I think Walter Hammond took our mother to Colo. General, where the doctors took a brain tumor off the inside of her skull, Jan. 1940. Earl Waters and my dad, Clarence King, proved up on 320 acres, 1 % miles south of the Kit Carson County Line, on the edge of Cheyenne County. Earl Waters was born 1893, and lived till Dec. 14, 1984. by Morris King WEAR, BERTHA BOGER F732 (February 15, 1904 - October 25, 1987) Bertha Boger Wear was the first of six children born to Wyatt Boger and Mabel Frankfather Boger in a small house in East Burlington. A year or two Iater the family home was built on the block just east of the courthouse. She was a member of 4-H for six years. After graduating from Burlington High School in L922, she attended Colorado Agricultural College (now Colorado State University). During the summer of 1923 she was in northern France as a member of a Bertha Boger Wear. delegation of 4-H canning demonstration teams from Iowa and Colorado. These four girls showed canning and food preservation methods to French homemakers in the devastated area of World War I. She graduated in 1926 from Colorado Agricultural College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Home Economics. The Colorado Extension Service appointed her Home Demonstration Agent to teach foods and nutrition, clothing, home management and home furnishing, child develop- ment and community services in the counties of Mesa, Delta and Montrose, and later in El Paso County. After a number of years she was appointed State Home Agent which involved traveling to every county in the state supervising county home demonstration agents. She was married to William T. Wear of Delta on July 20, 1930, at the home of her parents in Burlington. After taking leave of absence from the Burlington Service, a son, James Wyatt, and a daughter, Barbara, were born in Colorado Springs. The family moved to Burlington in L944 where she was County Extension Home Agent from 1945 until her retirement December 31. 1965. She had 32 years of employment with the Colorado Extension Service. In December 1947, Bertha was named Colorado's outstanding woman agent for the year at the national meeting of County Agricultural and Home Demonstration Agents Association in Chicago. After retirement Bertha became involved in community activities. She was a member of the City of Burlington Zoning and Adjustment Board, Burlington Housing Authority, Library Board, Museum Board, OId Town Jim and Josie celebrated their Golden Anniversarv on June 6, 1961. The Weavers, like so many others had dreams and visions of a prosperous farm of their own. So James L. (Jim) and Josiphine (Josie), with their six small children, Myrtle, Pauline, Harry, Melvin, Glen, and Dannie packed up their possessions and headed west. Leaving Palmyra, Nebraska in a Model T side curtain car and a Model T truck, they arrived in Burlington on April 1, 1921 (April Board, and Burlington Schools Accountability Committee. She also served as Chairman of the Board of the East Central Colorado Fools Day), which was subject to many jokes in the years to follow. They found the soil to Committee, and a member of the State Social Services Advisory Committee. She was also of the railroad tracks, just off the main Mental Health Clinic, Chairman of the Kit Carson County Social Services Advisory a member of the State Extension Service Advisory Council. She held membership in the Burlington be rich farm land and so flat that thev could see for miles. Purcha sing a Vz section of land 3 miles west of Burlington on the north side highway, they erected two tents for a temporary shelter until a home could be built. The first few months were rather traumatic. Spring had not yet arrived on the plains and �Second home south of Peconic. Weaver family photo taken on December 5, 1950. L to R. Glen, Melvin, Harry, Myrtle, Laura Jean, Dannie, Donald, and Gordon. Front, Josie and Jim. it was much colder than anticipated. At that time Dannie was only four months old. The Homer Pickerill's kindly received Josie and the baby into their home until a better shelter from the cold could be provided. When spring arrived, the digging of the basement began. It had to be dug with horses and scrapers. It was a big basement with an upper story that was never finished into individual rooms. Never the less, it was a jubilant move from the tents into the new home. In this home there were three more children born into the family, Donald, Gordon, and Laura Jean. After the house was built and the family settled, it was time for the tilling of the soil. Crops of corn, barley, pop corn, and sweet stock kaffer were raised. "Some times they raised Ned", too. Ha! Jim also did custom corn shelling and hauling all over the country. The boys had their own way in contributing a share to the family's welfare. No one could have foreseen the dust bowl days nor the depression which was to follow and shatter every one's dreams. Times became harder with each year to scratch out a living. Jim started making Good home brew and sold it to help make a living. It was sold at sales, dances and such. One time when Jim was cleaning the 50 gallon crock, he told the boys to take the sediment out and throw it away. Since they were on the way to watering the pigs they poured the sediment in the trough Wedding picture of Jim and Josie Weaver on June 6, 1911. and finished filling it with water. A while later Jim went out to see what all the racket was and saw the pigs laying on their sides, some il ,:l. ,,';":l Jim. Josie. and children beside their home and side curtain car in Palmvra. Nebraska. sticking their noses through the fence and all squealing loudly. Jim immediately thought the pigs had cholera and called the vet. The vet arrived and gave th pigs a thorough examination and reported that nothing was serious. The boys were then questioned and the truth came out. One evening the authorities sent a decoy to the house to buy some beer. When Jim went to get it, the fellow gave the signal to the authorities who were waiting at a distance. When they arrived on the scene, they drank all the beer they could consume, then broke the remaining bottles and destroyed the still. Jim was taken to jail where he remained for 52 days. That was the end of the beer making venture. In 1927, the �The Big Catch. Jim's tractors and Model T truck loaded and ready for the move west to Burlington. family all went to Bird City, Kansas and picked potatoes for Jim's brother, Albert Weaver. They received potatoes for wages and then returned home and sold the potatoes for a small profit. In 1941, the family was forced to move due to Jim's failing health. This time to a farm 6 miles east of Burlington and Vz mile south of the Peconic elevator' About this same time, World War II broke out. Five of their six sons, Melvin, GIen, Dannie, Don, and Gordon were called into the Armed Service. The oldest son, Harry, having lost an eye previously was disqualified for service. During the next few years, four of them saw active duty over seas' While the sons were serving our country, the farming continued on with the help of the youngest daughter, Laura Jean, who now was the only one left at home. At the end of the war, all five sons returned home safelY. Jim and Josie celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on June 6, 1961. An open house was held at the home of Dannie and Laurine Weaver. Many friends and relatives joined in the celebration with reminiscing of the bygone years that had slipped by so quickly. The sons and daughters all married and now reside in California, Idaho, Washington, Arizona, and Colorado. Two sons, Dannie and Glen, still reside in Burlington as well as several grandchildren. Dannie continued to farm and became a successful farmer, farming on a much Iarger scale. Ryan, a grandson, is continuing on with the farming as Dannie has semi-retired. Glen specialized in equipment maintenance and also did some farm- ing. He is now retired. Jim departed this life in 1962 and Josie in 1978 and both were layed to rest in the ,,.rr,,,,,rrt,,,,,,1,,.r,,l. ,; ,#l The first home being built. Burlington cemetery. Burlington had become their home and they no longer desired to return to Nebraska. by Mrs. Melvin (Verda) Weaver and Mrs. Don (DorothY) !9eaver �i'lil'llii, i t:it:,iliiri:'ii ,..1i,. ri,',r .: 't:f" ' "::r ": ::t'l i,aat' ,iu' .r.:::. *q4,,+ 'r:;, r. * l William Jacob Weber, known as ,,Billv" spent the early years of his married life ln Hartington and Norfolk, Nebraska. He movedhis family to Colorado in 1908, settling on a homestead 14 miles north-west of Burlington. They moved to Colorado with 3 small daughters, Minnie, Margie and Opal in an immigrant rail car, with 3 horses, 2 cows and a few chickens. They built a one room frame house to start with. It was necessary to haul water in barrels for some time until a well could be drilled. Billy broke sod and planted corn using a gallon bucket with holes in the bottom of ihe bucket fastened to the plow. Billy would go to Kansas to work in the harvest fields, then to Nebraska in the fall to shuck corn till nearly Christmas time, then come back home for the rest of the winter. Their first barn was dug into a large bank of a hill. The Weber Children all attended the Blue View and Prairie View Schools. For manv years the Weber's boarded the School Teach- Jim, Josie and two of their children, Dannie and Glen, plowing the fields. ers. Lela Wellman and Harvey Jensen were a couple by name. The Weber Family remember well when Billy bought his first car; a 1916 Ford Touring. He drove it into the garage and hollard WHOO but the car kept right on going thru the garage. Billy and Iva were staunch Republicans and always enjoyed working for their choice candidate. Back in the days when voters went to Country Schools to vote; they stood outside the fence campaigning for their candidate, no matter how cold and disa- it si greeable the weather was. Billy and Iva Weber operated their ranch for 34 years; upon selling their ranch they moved into Burlington in 1942 for retire- ment. They had the opportunity of celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary Novembei L2, 1948, with all of their children in attendance. It was a great festivity for them. by lva Gross WEISS - STADEL/STATLE FAMILY Family members picking potatoes. F735 WEBER - COAKLEY FAMILY Carl Weiss was born 9 April, 188? in Old Areis, Russia. His parents were Johann George Weiss, born 23 April 1801 and Karlina F734 Salzsiedler born 1808. He was married three times, first to a Jingling, 2nd to Katerina Stadel/Statle and finally to Yukhon, Apolone. By the 1890's and early 1900 changing conditions and pressures in Russia led manv William Jacob Weber, son of Martin and Frances Weber, born August 22,187L in Iowa City, Iowa; departed this life September 17, 1956 at age of 85. of the German Lutheran families living in thi Black Sea area of Russia to begin immigrating to the United States. In 1902 when Carl Iva Maud Coakley, daughter of Samuel and Miranda Coakley, was born in Hillsdale, Iowa, January, L2, 1882; and departed this made the decision to immigrate, he already had several relatives living in the Lutheran settlement area north of Bethune. Colorado life October 8, 1960 at age of 78. William Weber and Iva Maud Coaklev were united in marriage November 12, 189-8 including, John Schmidke, a son-in-law. The at Hartington, Nebraska. To this union Z children were born; Minnie Lasher, Margie Knapp, Opal Towers, Katherine Tuttle. Almond Weber, Faris Weber and George Weber, (George passed away November 25, 1972). Iva Maud Coakley and William Jacob Weber on their 50th Wedding Anniversary. Picture taken November L2, 1948 in their living room in Bur- lington, Co. family made the move in 1902 leaving from the port of Bremmen, Germany on April 22, 1902 on the ship S.S. Frederich Wilhelm. In his immediate family were six children and his third wife. They were apparently fairly well to do since the shio's manifest lisLq them �as having $650.00 in their possession. Travel- ing through Ellis Island, the family encounteied problems with the medical examinations. One brother, Ludwig, was refused entry because of "pinkeye". Two of the children John age 9 and Jocobina, age 18 were held in quarantine while the authorities decided whether or not to admit them. The rest of the family could not afford to wait for them and continued on to Colorado not knowing what the children's eventual fate would be. Happily they were both released two weeks latei and rejoined the family in the settlement. Arriving in Colorado they stayed with a Fred and Gottlieb Stahlecker. While there Carl was bothered by arthritis and frequently buried himself in warm sand on the south side of the house to get relief. In 1904 he applied for a homestead in Kit Carson County. His first crop in 1904 consis- ted of 25 acres of corn. By 1910 when he "proved up" on his claim, he raised a crop of 55 acres corn, 12 acres cane, 33 acres of wheat land and stated that he usually raised a crop. He listed his improvements as "Adobe buiidings as follow: house 19 x 26 feet (2 rooms); kiichen 17 x 19 feet: barn 15 x 40 feet: barn L7 x45 feet: pumphouse 7 x 1? feet: henhouse 13 x 19 feet well with pump, windmill and tank, the whole track fenced with posts and wire fencing. Value of improvements $600.00. It cost him $16.00 to file the claim papers. Carl Weiss died 10 Years later on 11 November 1920 at his home. He was survived by 6 natural children from his second marriage. They were: Martin, Gottfried, Johannls, Bertha Schmidke, Wilhemania Stahlecker, and Jacobina Stahlecker. Martin Weiss was born in the settlement on 30 October 1890, his parents were Carl and Katerina Statle. He married Lydia Schmidke (b. 7 October 1890) whose parents were Sam Schmidke and Anna Margareta Hauser. She was a small, black-haired soft-spoken lady. Martin was only 20 years old when he was married on the 16 of March 1911. He and Lydia like many other families homesteaded on 160 acres and proved up on it. Their children remember many good times growing up on the farm, sleigh rides to church in the winter, and rides at home at night with the lantern's glowing. Winter time was also the time to take grain to town to sell. They used wagons and walked beside the wagon to stay warm. Martin had a full length coat and cap made of horse hide that went clear to his ankles; it was split in back to the waist to allow him to get into the wagon seat. School was only % mile away. The small children played "fox and goose" and the older kids played baseball. The girls had a basketball team that would go to Bethune and play the town team. The kids would trap rabbits around the corn piles and use the back legs to make jerky and add to the pork for sausage. Planning for Easter celebration began weeks before when Lydia planted wheat in a small crock or kettle for each child. When Easter arrived she would place the children's colored eggs in the kettle ofgrowing wheat for Easter morning. Just before Christmas the girls'porcelain headed dolls would disappear a month or so before Christmas to be returned on Christmas morning with new clothes. The 4th of July was celebrated in Bethune with pie-eating contests' races, games and bands. Martin's oldest daughter Anna was given by Robert and Linda Coles WEISS, MARTIN AND LYDIA SCHMIDKE F736 a young coyote to raise by her father. When the coyote was full grown the pelt was sold to buy green dress material that was used to make a new dress' Discipline was administered by Martin and backed up by a leather strap 2" wide and 14" long which the kids remember as rarely being used. When Lydia died on 29 June 1936' Martin was left with 5 children still at home to raise. Martin was not only a farmer but also a local veterinarian that was well known throughout the area. Later on in life, after the death of Lydia he still did veterinary work but the person needing help would frequently have to wait until his bread dough was through rising and sometimes even baked. He was also known for making excellent dill pickles. Martin and Lydia had seven children that reached adulthood, Carl, Anna Schlichenmayer, Irene Adolf, Hulda Kniss, Amanda Hull, Daniel and David. One child, James, died at age five. by Robert and Linda Coles WEISSHAAR FAMILY I.737 In 1885 my parents John and Christina (Wilhelm) Weisshaar arrived in the United States. They were both born in Russia, but their parents migrated from Germany to Russia to obtain a better living opportunities Martin and Lydia Weiss and two children. offered them by the Russians. This was a great disappointment so they came to the United States and took up a homestead claim here. They landed in Saracuse, Nebraska where they both worked for a farmer. In 1886 my father obtained a homestead located two miles east and two miles south of Idalia' Colorado. They had worked in Nebraska long enough to earn money to move on their homestead. They brought one horse, a cow, one ox and a few chickens. Several families from there loaded all their belongings in a freight car and came to Idalia together. The closest County Seat was Weld County in Sterling but Akron had a small office where my father walked to get his homestead papers. He said it was his fastest means of travel and the cheapest. Building materials were hauled by ream and wagon from Haigler, Nebraska and water was hauled from the Republican River for family use and also for the stock. After building a soddy and a barn for the animals and breaking sod for spring planting my father went to work in the smelter in Denver in the early fall to earn money for winter supplies and windows and doors for the house. At first heavy materials and quilts were hung to keep out the wind rain and rodents. In the absence of my father my mother had to care for the family and stock and haul water from the river, 6 miles, away. Those were hard and trying times as no one had much money and most all had large families. At one time during my fathers absence a prairie fire swept through our place. My mother got the horse in the barn but the cow was severely burned and could not be milked for a while. In 1889 my father dug a well 220 ft. deep. The dirt was drawn out with buckets tied to a rope. A lantern was kept in the well and as soon as the oxygen got low the lantern would go out so Father pulled on the rope to alert the helper outside who would pull him out of the well for a while. It was a long and worrysome and tiresome job. This was their home until 1901. My father could not obtain grassland for his horses and cows so they moved to Kit Carson County then known as Yale, Colorado. My youngest brother Karl still lives on the old home Place. By then they had two boys, Jake and John and six girls, Lena, Tina, MarY, Frieda, Margaret and Pauline. A son died in infancy and is buried in the Idalia Church Cemetary. It was hard leaving all their friends and especially their church of which they were charter members. The old soddy Church is now the United Church of Christ. After they moved to Kit Carson County two boys and one girl was born. Karl and myself, William, and Anna. My parents visited friends in the Idalia Community quite often in later years. One I remember real well was at the old John Brenner place. We kids played hard so we decided to get a drink in the old well house where we found some bottles cooling in the water barrel so we indulged. Needless to say I slept all the way home in the family buggy.We had discovered the bottles contained some of John's homebrew. In 1916 my father passed away. I was then only fourteen years old and my brother Jake was twenty years old but was soon drafted in the army so in order that we could all stay together on the farm I had to take a lot of responsibility for the farming and all the care and work for the family. My youngest brother Karl was only six years old, so with the help �of my Mother and Anna and Pauline we carried on somehow but it was a rough time for us all. The responsibility for one so young was hard. I stayed with my Mother until I got married in 1929. By then Anna, Pauline and Jake were married too and only Karl was left at home. by Freida Weisshaar WEISSHAAR SCHAAL FAMILY F738 had us stay over at his home since my arm was very swollen. I slept with his mother and she gave ice-cream as she felt sorry for me. The next morning after he set it, we returned for another 3 hour ride back to the farm. Two weeks later I started school with my cast, in the old adobe 1 room school house across from the Sam Schaal Sr. place. Also in 1914-15 when most telephone exchanges were limited to only fair sized cities, there were about 22 farmers of the Russian - German settlement that met in the Prairie View school house to organize a phone company. After numerous meetings and information as to type and costs, they decided on the least expensive system that was being used in different parts of the country, namely earth for a ground and top wire of a well mended barbwire fence that criss-crossed the area for the transmission line and had to be insulated. As rubber was scarce, all old rubber boots and overshoes were gathered and cut into I r/z inch squares. They removed the top wire staple from the post, wrapped the rubber square around the barbwire and restapled it back to the post. After insulating some 20 miles in this fashion, "presto!" they had a phone system on their very own. This cost each farmer $19.2b and included a wall phone with crank generator, 2 batteries, 1 lightening arrestor, 4-L6 ft.2 x 4's and enough phone wire to bring the line over entrances and section lines. They had no phone contact with the outside world. but this alone saved many trips and time and kept them in touch with each other. Each family had its own combination of long and short rings as its own private number. Though all bells rang on all phones, your private ring told everyone the call was for you. Listening in on a private conversation (called "rubbernecking") was forbidden but Joseph and Margaret (Schaal) Weisshaar and grandson Richard Carpenter. Taken in Loveland, CO, April 24, 1949. In the late 1880's, John and Christina Schaal came from Gnadendahl. Russia and homesteaded North of Bethune. Colorado in the German settlement. To this union was born my mother, Margaret, Chris who died in 1906 ofblood poisoning being injured from a windmill accident at age L7, John, Emil, Bill, and August. In 1904 after serving 4 years in the Russian army, Joseph Weisshaar came to America from Lichtenthal Russia and homesteaded in Bethune. Harold Weisshaar still lives on the old place today. In 190? Joseph married Margaret Schaal in the old stone Immanuel Lutheran Church and from this union came myself, Margaret (Strobel), Gottlieb (Johnny), Magdalena (Dolly Wardona), Paul, and Lydia (Carpenter). In 1915 when I was Z, my brother Joseph and I were playing in the full grain bin and crawled up in the windows where I fell to the ground below and broke my elbow. Mother called father who was working in the harvest at the Schlichenmayer place to come home at once. They placed many blankets and hay bales in the back of the old wood buggy drawn by 2 horses. That night after 3 hours driving to the town of Burlington 14 miles away we got to the Dr's who other and attended the same church. John stillremembers going to my parents wedding in 1907 when he was 8 years old and having a wonderful lamb dinner. He didn't know then that some day he would marry their first child. John played the trombone in the Burlington Band and on Saturday nights they would place the bandstand in the middle on the street and we would have a good time listening to the fine music. December L5.Lg27 we were married in the old white church in the settlement. We went on a honeymoon by train, my first time away from the settlemeni. to Denver. We moved into Johns'place and lived there until 1936. John had a general repair shop and worked many long hours making equipment and repairing broken equipment for the farmers in the communitv. I raised turkeys and the usual things most farm wives did in those times. __-In 1928 my parents Joseph and Margaret Weisshaar had a public sale and movedlrom their home to Loveland, Colorado where thev contracted work in the beet fields for a number of years. They bought a farm in Wellington, Colorado where Joseph and Paul, their sons, farmed until recent vears. The three sons, Joseph, John (Gottlieb), and Paul all served in the armed forces over seas during the second World War, as did their son-in-laws George Wardona and Elton Carpenter. They all returned safely except Gottleib who was wounded in the back in France. In 1936 after our daughter Esther was born, we went to California where we still reside today. We returned many times to our place north of Bethune to visit and work..Ihis we did by motorcycle, car, train, airplane, and bus. We returned to Bethune in 1977 and had a wonderful time at our b0th wedding anniversary with many friends and old-timers we knew and grew up with. We celebrated not always observed. They system functioned very well except when a cow jumped over the fence or a storm severed the top wire with tumbleweeds blown against the fence. After several years the barbwire was replaced with phone wire on top of 10 ft. 2 x 4's nailed to every 4th post. As more families connected our 58th anniversary this past year. Hopefully, God willing, we may live to celebrate our 60th with all the dear folks in Bethune and Burlington again in 1987. and a certain switch at Christina Knodel's house % mile north of Immanuel Lutheran Church. Each member paid her g1 a year to WEISSHAAR - to the line it was necessary to divide into B sections with about 20 phones in each section take care of the switch board. For this amount she had to stay around the house closely. In the 40's the line was replaced with regular poles and 2 wires. This connected them to the outside world at the cost of $15,000. In 1960 as upkeep and maintainance got more complicated and people had more money, a deal was made with the Mountain States Telephone Co. and they sold out for a total of $1.00 or 2 cents per shareholder and other considerations. Now they take care of the line but for considerable more than g1 per year. So from the barbwire phone to -he present dial-system connection millions of phones all over the world which can be reached in minutes without centrals or operators, we see one of our modern miracles. And some day this system will also be obsolete. While working for Rev. Chris Headche family at the Congregation Church, I was invited out to the school Christmas Program by John Strobel who was the son ofJacob and Catherine Strobel. We grew up in the settlement together as our families lived near each by Margaret Strobel WILHELM FAMILY F739 The Weisshaar-Wilhelm families were originally from Germany but had emigrated to Russia during the reign of Catherine the Great, lured there by promise of free land and other benefits, as she wanted the expertise of the industrious Germans to strengthen the country. These promises were kept until her government was overthrown by the Bolshevik political power and she and her family were assassinated. Under the new rule things did not bode well for the Germans, and those young enough, and able, began to immigrate to America. Some of their relatives and friends had already come to America by the time John Fredrick and Christina (Wilhelm) were married in 1883. Soon after they said goodbye to relatives and friends and started the long hardjourney to America. They got as far as Talmage, Nebraska, when their funds ran out, so Grandad worked for a cattleman in the area for a year in order to earn enough money to finish their iorrrnev Tn the mpqnfimp laffaro �that Imkea (Carrie) Westerbur was helping sister Frieda with her harvest cooking. Having now met his future bride, he stayed on after harvest, working, and then renting a farm near Republican City, Neb. On Dec. L2,L92l my parents were married. They later moved to near Hildreth, Nebraska, where they continued to farm. Three children were born to the family, Harold, Lee, and Alvina. In the latter part of 1930 Dad's Uncle Joe, who had homesteaded 1 mile east of his brother John's place but had moved to Loveland, CO. some years earlier, wanted a reliable center for his homestead with the option to buy. He asked Dad to move to Colorado which they did, arriving here March 1, 1931. This was the beginning of the big drought, times were hard but with perseverance and much self sacrifice they managed to hang on and raise their family. When the drought broke, and they were able to raise some crops and had increased their cattle herd, and in general got ahead a bit, they felt they were able to buy the farm, doing so in the early 40's. My parents were both active in their Wedding picture of Jakob (Jake) Weisshaar and Imkea (Carrie) Westerbuhr. They were maried December 12, L921 at Hildreth, NE. were exchanged with Grandad's sister Lena and her husband, Jacob Hasart, who were already established in the Settlement of eastern Colorado, and they were able to find a homestead for them near Idalia, Colo. In 1885 they came to Colorado. The Hasart's and new neighbors helped them build a house on their claim, and they settled in to farm and raise a family. As the family increased the quarter section was not large enough to support them, and as no other land was available near by Grandad sold the land for $500.00 and was able to buy a half section in the Settlement from a Mr. Bevere for the same amount of money. They moved in 1901, acquiring more land later. Thirteen children were born to this family, 2 dying in infancy. Magdalena (Schlichen- mayer) 1886, John 1887-1967, Christina (Fisher) 1889-19?8, Freida (Fisher) 1891, Eva Marie (Mary Adolf) 1892, Margaret (Stah- lecker 1894, Jakob 1896, Pauline (Schlichenmayer) 1900, Wilhelm 1902, Anna (Adolf) 1904, and Karl 1910. Grandad died in 1916. Grandmother remained on the family farm until her death in February, 1946. The youngest son Karl still owns the family farm at the present time. The oldest child, Lena Schlichenmayer, celebrated her 100th birthday June 1, 1986. After Grandad's death, the oldest son, John, having already married and established his own home, it fell to my father Jake to head the household, do the farming and help Grandma raise the younger children. In the fall of 1918 my dad was drafted into the Army, taking his basic training at Camp Pendleton, California. He was already aboard ship, ready to sail, when the Armistice was signed bringing an end to World War I. He was shortly discharged, and returned home to the family farm, helping his mother until the summer of 1921 when brother Bill was old enough to take over the responsibility and Dad went to Republican City, Nebraska to help his sisters Tina and Frieda and their husbands with their harvest. It so happened church and community affairs, and always found the time to help friends and neighbors as needs arose, setting a good example for we children to follow. In 1946 my brother Lee and Leona Ziegler were married and Lee took over the family farm. The folks built a house in Burlington and moved there in May of 1947. Dad' still not quite ready to retire, went to work for McArthur Implement as parts salesman keeping this job until the early 50's. When Lee decided to quit farming and take up the barber trade, Dad again resumed farming until 1961 when he retired. Harold, his wife Esther (Adolf) and family took over the farm. My folks are in reasonable good health, still able to care for themselves and their home' Dad still drives his car. They celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary and Dad's 89th birthday Dec. 12, 1985. Mother was 90 in March of 1986. They transferred their church membership from Immanuel Lutheran of Bethune to St. Pauls of Burlington when they moved to town helping to build the church there. They remain faithful members to this present day. by Alvina Guy WELLER, W. E. of where Flagler is now. Dad's cousin decided to put up a general store in a large tent - supplies were hauled from a distance as far as Denver. Later Will Lavington started a lumber camp, which my father ran. During this time he met many new settlers and helped them settle on homesteads. Most of the homes were of sod, or dugouts in hillsides. Will Lavington then built a frame building on the site of Flager and started another store and also another Iumber yard - Dad worked in both. By this time Ella Lavington, Will's wife, came out from New York and she and my father looked after both store and lumber yard. Will had started both sheep and cattle interests and spent his time with them. A few years later, a school house, a church, and boarding house had been built. The Quinns occupied the Section house for Rock Island Railroad. My mother, Alice Bishop, had lived in Penn Yann, New York, and decided to come to Flagler to visit her sister and brother-inlaw in 1891. They had a homestead eight miles northwest of Flagler. George Gates, her brother-in-law, prevailed on her to file on a homestead adjoining their land. He built a small one-room shack on the land and she and her little niece walked there each night for six months. This entitled her to the land. She later went in to Flagler to work in the Lavington home. Here she met my father and they were married November 15, 1893. My father had previously filed on a preemption of 160 acres and had built a small one-room soddy. After their marriage, they decided to build two more rooms. My mother sold her homestead to a Mr. Geo. Reinemer for $2.00 per acre. In building more rooms, my father decided not to use the upland sod, but to go to the Republican River four miles east. Long grasses and weeds growing on river sod made it stronger. The house stood many years. The project was long and back breaking, as the sod had to be cut with spades and it was heavy from water content. No floors or gcreens could they afford their first year. Burlap sacks were nailed to the ground floor and my mother washed them often. Mosquito netting, sent to her from aunts in New York, covered the windows. In time, my father laid heavy plank floors. Heavy wooden shades were made to swing open and these shut out the cold in winter and kept the hail from break the windows in summer. Sod houses, with walls two feet deep, were warm in winter and cool in summer. The walls provided deep window spaces for flower plants in winter. F740 My father, W.E. Weller, and his cousin, Will Lavington, arrived in the Flagler Area in 1888. They were both raised in Liverpool, New York. They were among the many young men who had the urge to go "West". At Fremont, Nebraska, they experienced the "Blizzard of '88". Later they pushed on with covered wagons drawn by oxen - a few horses were led behind the wagons. They worked on the Rock Island Railroad, a new trail thru Colorado. Seventy miles north, the Bur- lington was building a line. Other crews had arrived earlier. I well remember my father telling of a big burly man, Mike Quinn, who was in charge of the Railroad Camp. He was section boss at Flagler for years later. His wife cooked for the men in the camp. This camp site was at Bowserville, about 1 7z miles east The walls were plastered and brown wrapping paper was used to cover the walls until later years when wall paper was available. My parents raised a family of nine children: Robert, Alma, Homer, Glenn, Bill, Doris, Stewart, Elsie and myself. All were educated in the Flagler schools. In 1912, my father was elected County Clerk of Kit Carson County. He served four years. The Rock Island Railroad issued passes to all County officials - this allowed him to come week-ends and supervise the boys in the farm work. Much credit goes to my mother in the raising of the fanily - directing work indoors and out-of-doors. She did not always get to church but each Sunday we children were sent; the older brothers and sisters staying for church. Evening services were held. and Christian Endeavor of the �Congregation Church attracted lots of young people. Previous to my father being County Clerk, he did carpentry work and helped build many of the houses and some of the business buildings. He and my brother hauled the bigger share of the sand used in building the school built in 1916. He had helped build the old frame building used before that, and also a one-room school house - the first Flagler had. Several of our family finished High School. Most went to Denver, like many other young people, to find work. My younger sister and I taught schools in Lincoln and Kit Carson Counties. In 1931, she had a very harrowing experience when a sudden blizzard, came up and the strong winds forced her car off the road. This was about 9:30 in the morning. The next afternoon she was found by a posse of forty men on horse back, led by my brother. The car was in quite a deep ditch with only a small bit of the top showing. My sister had frost bitten hands, feet and face. She was taken to Denver hospital for a few days of treatment. As I grew up, the church, the school and lodges provided the Flagler people with worship, education and social life. A Country Club, consisting of twelve families, originally provided a social time for young and old. I moved from Colorado to Nebraska in 1926, after marrying David Way in 1925. He had moved with his folks to Aniba, Colorado, where they farmed for six years. We farmed at Milford, Nebraska, for two years and then moved to Syracuse, Nebraska, in 1929 to operate an automotive shop. He was appoint- ed Postmaster in 1943, and served f.or 25 years, when his age made retirement mandatory. We spent our winters in California with a son for ten years, but health problems do not allow us to travel now. Flagler and Kit Carson County as a whole holds lots of wonderful memories for me and I took eagerly for each week's Flagler News by Frances TVeller TVay The family moved to Cozad, Nebraska, in 1937 and Albert was Ford and Mercurv automobile dealer until 1964. He and son BoL were then associated with dealerships at Kearney, Neb., Clovis, N.M., Burlington and Fort Collins, Colo. Albert and Ruth moved back to Cozad from Fort Collins in 1981. Bob was married to Beverly Block in Cozad on April 9, 1950. They were parents of five children, Victoria, twins Rhonda and Rochelle, Valerie and Robert Eugene II. Bob died in Fort Collins in 1979. Marilyn was married to David Zimmerman in Cozad in 1957. Two sons were born to them, Williem Douglas and Bryan Dale. Bryan died at age 4 in Breckenridge, Colo. Marilyn now resides in Boulder, Colo. Albert died in Cozad on March 8, 1982. Ruth still resides in Cozad. by Marilyn Wells Zimmerman WHIPPLE, CLAIR ALAN AND GLADYS MAY F742 Alan Clair Whipple, son of IraJ. and Hattie Whipple was born September 9, 1890 on the ranch originally homesteaded by his parents and which he later owned. The ranch was located north ofStratton on the Spring Creek where it junctions with the Republican River, just up stream from the Pugh ranch. They had land on both sides ofthese rivers and hill land for pasture. He and Gladys Alma May were united in marriage, October 13, 1918, at Burlington with C.A. Yersin the officiating minister. They made their home on the ranch until after the 1935 flood forced them to move. Gladys May, daughter of Hollis K. and Sarah Jane May, was born at St. Francis, Kansas, and spent her early life on the family farm near Armel, Colorado. She received her education there in the country school and later cared for her parents until their deaths. Clair attended the Tuttle school and WELLS, ALBERT AND RUTH F74l Albert E. Wells was born August 1, 1903, in Goodland, Kansas, to Bert P. and Alta Standish Wells. Another son, Dale, was born June 25, 1906, to Bert and Alta. Ruth Adaline Augusta Pischke was born Jan. 9, 1905, in Princeton, Wisconsin, to Gustave and Ida Pischke. Ruth had four brothers and sisters, Lewis, George, Evelyn and Alice. Albert spent most of his youth in Burlington, and graduated from high school there in 1922. Ruth moved with her family to Stratton when she was a girl. Albert and Ruth were married Sept. 25, L927, at the home of her mother in Stratton. Albert worked as a Ford salesman for Cecil Reed in Burlington until 1933, when he went to work for Bill David Motor Co. in Goodland, Kans. A son, Robert Eugene, was born Feb. 23, 1929, in Burlington, and a daughter, Marilyn Yvonne, was born Nov. 22,1934, in Goodland. attendance was scheduled around the ranch and home work. The story is told of him hiding in the school attic either as a prank or to tease and disturb the other students. Once while "walking the rafters" he slipped and fell astraddle the rafter and both feet crashed through the ceiling. He had a hard time getting out of that predicament. Gladys and Clair were the parents of five children: Forrest Alan, Clifford Kendall. Maxine Mae, Mildred LaVerne. and Mavis Jean. Clifford died of leukemia and Maxine died from pneumonia following scarlet fever. Both were in their teens. Mildred died as an infant with "summer complaint" or dysen- tery. Mavis married Albert Scherrer and they lived on a farm near the old Bar-T ranch until moving in 1960, to Crawford, Colorado. Forrest married Regina Scherrer and they raised their family on his farm in northern Kit Carson Co. until ill health forced him to retire. The principal livelihood of the Whipples was from farming, and raising cattle and horses. Being active members of their community there were often called upon for their ability to help out in time of sickness and death. Clair, a self taught veterinarian, was sought after to treat livestock, especially horses. He was a skilled horseman. In his younger years he broke and trained horses for saddle back use and for teams. His children were provided a saddle horse for their own use and they spent many hours horseback, either as helping with cattle or for fun. Clifford was quite a trick rider. The Whipple brand was W quarter circle open A W. Forrest still owns this brand. Social life at that time consisted of familv or community visiting, dinners and picnics. The Whipple grove was an ideal place to gather and for children to play. The children could climb a tree at one end and scremble from branch to branch and tree to tree until they reached the other end of the rows of black walnut and elm trees without touching the ground. Another popular and important source of entertainment during the depression years was the literaries. These were public get togethers, usually held in the local school house, at which anyone who desired was welcome to take part. There were plays, musicals, and recitations, with spelling bees being the most popular. Maxine Whipple was a champion speller and frequently spelled down the adults in the competition. When some of the students could better the elders in the area it was a source of real pride. One crop Clair raised was broom corn. The crop was harvested by hand, being cut with a corn knife. It was then trucked to Pueblo for sale at the broom factory there. The man who would inspect the load for quality was blind. He would run his hands over the ends of the stalk and say, "I see. I see. This is good." or "I see. I see. This is too knottv." or "I see, yes, I see. This is straight and str-ong." or "I see. This is too crooked!" Whenever Forrest was sent with the load of corn. he enjoyed watching the blind man see with his fingers. Clair raised and used mules as well as horses for work. At one time, while working on a crew that was building local roads, he used a team of mules with a fresno to move dirt. When it came close to noon one of the mules would bray and the foreman would call out "unhitch". He had learned that those mules would not do any more work until fed and watered. Mules have peculiarities of their own. Forrest and Clifford were taught how to farm with mules. Forrest tells about the time he was weeding with a team consisting of two buckskin mares and two mules. He was about 1% miles from home and planned to finish by noon so he could move the machinerv home. But just as he started the last round one mule brayed and no matter what he did he could not finish until he unhitched and took the mules home for their noon feed and rest. He even unhitched and led them in a circle and hitched up again, but that didn,t fool the mules. He was glad when they bought their first tractor. Gladys was the typical farm housewife and raised a great deal of the family food. She was a beautiful sewer and did not let any scrap wasted. Her son still has a quilt she pieced by hand. She used Bull Durham tobacco sacks. dyed them, and worked them into a beautifui design. Since Clair did not smoke, saying that if the Good Lord had meant for man to smoke he would have built a smoke stack on his head, it is questionable where she obtained all those tobacco sacks! After the 1935 flood left their farm virtually destroyed, Clair moved his family �several times before buying a farm near Bethune. After a long struggle with diabetes he died on January 29, 1946. In 1949' September 3, Gladys died from complications following surgery. Both are buried in the family plot at Armel cemetery as are their three children who preceded them. by Regina Whipple WHIPPLE, FORREST AND REGINA F743 Forrest Alan Whipple was born to Clair and Gladys Whipple on March 6, 1920, at his Grandfather May's home near Armel, Colo- rado. Clair and Gladys were spending the winter there because their house on the farm/ranch north of Stratton was not yet completed. They then made their home at this ranch that Clair had obtained from his father, Ira Whipple, and Forrest spent his childhood there. Forrest, his brother, Clifford, and two sisters, Maxine and Mavis, attended school in the local schools, Coyote Ridge later named Sunnyside, and for a short time at Hell Creek and Midway school. They remember playing in the caves along the river banks and finding Indian beads and other objects in them. One of the family pastimes was arrowhead hunting in the pastures on the riverbottom where they believed it was an old Indian battleground. Arrowheads were also hunted in the blowouts nearby. Another pastime, at least it seemed to be, was fixing 13 fence crossings. Much of their productive land lay on either side and between the Spring Creek and Republican and the rivers meandered through the lowlands, causing the fences to be washed out at only a slight rising of the waters. After the 1935 flood, his mother, Gladys, refused to rebuild on the home place and the family moved several times before buying a farm near Bethune. So Clair could be closer to medical care, he lived there until his death but Gladys and Mavis spent part of their time with Forrest on his own farm southeast of Kirk and 25 miles northeast of Stratton so that Mavis could attend school at Kirk. Regina was born at Agate, Colorado on October 18, 1921 to William and Helen Mattingly Scherrer. In 1929 the family moved from Agate to the ranch on the Republican River northwest of Burlington. The ranch had been purchased from Will's cousin, Dr. Elmer Shcerrer, and was at one time the site of the Hermes post office and store. Regina attended grade school at the Ritzius School on the river in Kit Carson Co' and graduated from the high school in Kirk, after having spent two years in Denver at Holy Family High School. She graduated from the Seton School ofNursing at Glockner Hospital in Colorado Springs in 1944 and joined the Army Nurse Corps that spring. After two years of overseas duty she worked three years with the Indian Service at Santa Fe, New Mexico. After her marriage she continued her nursing work and was employed by Grace Manor Nursing Home in Burlington for 13 years before opening the Mode O'Day store in Burlingt<,n. On October 18, 1949, Forrest and Regina were married at St. Charles Catholic Church in Stratton. They continued dry land farming along with cattle and hog raising until 1964 when they put in an irrigation well. In 1974, Forrest retired due to ill health, and the family moved into Burlington. Five of their eight children graduated from the Liberty High School and three from Burlington High School. Regina and Forrest are the parents ofeight children. They are: Gladys Elizabeth (Liz) who is Director of Area Agency on Aging of this area through the Council of Govern- ments at Stratton. David, married to Gabrielle Snelling, and works for K.C. Electric. They have two children: Greg and Jennifer. Stephen Edward, married to Kim Doris and parents of three children: William, Bradley and Stephanie. He owns Steve's Truck and Tractor. Gerald Alexander, husband of Judith Kramer and father of two boys, Gerald and Johnathan. They live and work in Denver. Clifford James, who is in the Marines stationed in North Carolina has two children: Maria and Loyd. Regina Marie married Dennis Oldham, they have two girls: Hailey and Rachael. Dolores Ruth married James Ford and has one daughter, Crystal. Lenora Anne who is married to Scott Winslow, lives and works in Wray and they have three children: Grant, Lydia and Angelee. by Regina WhiPPle WHIPPLE, IRA AND grove of walnut and elm trees on the home- stead and the grove was known for many years as the Whipple Grove, and was the site of many community picnics. All the trees are now gone. They lived in a sod house and cut Iime rocks to build a barn and pump house/milk house combination. Ira J. was well known for the way he had with horses. He is credited with introducing (or breeding) Appaloosa horses into this area. He loved buying and selling, and was a clever free hand artist with horses and Indians being his best subjects. He rented the use of some of his mule teams to be used by the railroad crews when building the railroad through here. His brand was IJW under the horse's mane and on the cows it was IJW across their ribs. In 1902, Hattie and Ira J. moved to Jaqua, Kansas, located on the Republican River, on the Colorado-Kansas border. His land is now part of the State Lakes in southern Yuma county. Hattie died on May 14, 1919, at 57 years of age with a ruptured hernia. Ira J. continued to live near Jaqua. In 1935, when he was 80 years old, the flood caught Ira J. and he spent 14 hours on the roofofhis house before the waters receded enough and someone could get in to him and get him out via horseback. All of his household belongings and most of his machinery were lost. After the flood, Ira J. visited relatives in Ayer's Cliff, Quebec. In 1939, his daughter, Ethel, and her son, Harold, brought Ira J. home. He passed away on January 25,1940 at 85 years of age. He and Hattie are both buried in the Armel Cemetery. Ira J. and Hattie were the parents of three children, all born in Kit Carson County. r.744 Their oldest son was Dallas Dunbar Whipple, born August 23, 1888. He married Alma Juhl on July 5, 1914. They were the parents offive children: Edith Laverne, Delvin LeRoy, Ira John Whipple was born December 30, Allen. Dallas passed away on September 14, IIATTIE 1854 in Hatley, Quebec, Canada, to John and Euphrosyne Standish Whipple. His father was a farmer around the Hatley and Ayer's Cliffarea. Ira often told ofplaying around the shores of beautiful Lake Massawippi. Around 1870, he moved to the Lowell, Massachusetts area where he worked as a teamster. On September 29, L874, he was married to Irene L. Stephenson who was born in Calais, Maine in 1852 to Luke and Elizabeth Hammond Stephenson. One son, Leon Wellington Whipple, was born to this union on February 29, 1876. In 1876, Ira J. was working in Lowell as a watchman. Shortly after Leon's birth, Ira J. moved to Creston, Iowa where he sold Bibles in 1877, and later operated a dairy business. He made his deliveries with a horse and wagon, which was equipped with a bell. On February 17, 1885. he was married to Hattie Amelia Dunbar, daughter of Reverend Otis and Abigail Gooden Dunbar. She was born Jan- Authur Dunbar, Perry Donald, and Philip 1956 at Parsons. Kansas. and is buried at St. Francis. Kansas. Alan Clair Whipple was born September 9, 1890 and married Gladys May on October 13, 1918. They had five children: Alan Forrest, Maxine May, Clifford Kendall, Mildred LaVerne, and Mavis Jean. Clair died January 29, t946 at Burlington and Gladys died September 3, 1949. Both are buried in the Armel Cemetery. Ethel LaVerne Whipple was born October 16, 1895. She married Bill Armknecht, and they lived north of Kanorado where they farmed. They were the parents of six children: Harold, Howard Alan, Raymond Henry, Wilda LaVerne, Richard, and Wanda Loraine. Ethel passed away on September 27, 1952 and is buried at St. Francis. Kansas. by Liz Whipple uary 1, 1862 in Springfield, Illinois. Hattie and Ira J. moved all their belongings in wagons to Colorado in 1886. They home- WHITMORE FAMILY to live on the Spring Creek and Republican River near where they merged, near the old Early Recollections of Eastern F745 steaded north ofStratton, later moving north Tuttle ranch. Hattie brought with her several tree saplings. One was a black locust tree, which planted near the house, brought shade and beauty to the home place. Others were black walnut trees and Ira and Hattie planted a Colorado Cheyenne County, Nebraska, had an ex- hibit at the Nebraska State Fair in the fall of 1886. A number of us neighborhood boys at Emerald. Nebraska saw the exhibit and �planned a trip to Cheyenne County with a view of taking up land. We started out that same fall. Those making the trip were McFarland, Wilson, Shipe, Snyder, Sinclair and Whitmore. Our tickets took us to Cambridge, Nebraska. McFarland's brother had lived at Emerald but had moved to Wilsonville, Nebraska, in 1885. He met us and took us to Wilsonville. We looked around there for a few days, but decided to go and see what Eastern Colorado was like. We hired a man with a good span of mules and a wagon camp outfit, going first to Oberlin, Kansas, west to Atwood then southwest to Sherman Center (now Good- land), the county seat of Sherman County, then west to the Colorado line. There was no settlement in that section of Colorado at that time. There were large ranches on the Republican River and its tributaries. We found large areas of level land still open to homestead entry. We looked around for one day getting corners located and range and township numbers. Our teamster then took us to the railroad at Haigler, Nebraska, on the Burlington line 50 miles north. We paid him off and took the train to Denver, Colorado. Our filings were made at the land office. We were sure pleased with the good level land. The winter of 1886 and 1887,I helped with the farm work at home in Emerald. In the spring of 1887, father gave me a team of rather aged mules. Wilson, Snyder and I loaded a car, each ofus taking a team, wagon, breaking plow and feed. McFarland loaded a car of household goods, stock and feed. George Shipe went with him as helper. George's claim joined McFarland's on the north. All shipped to Haigler, just a few miles from the Colorado line. We had good weather for our 50 mile drive to our claims. We found. however, that March weather can be very uncertain. We camped the first night at a crossing on the South Fork ofthe Republican River, unrolled our blankets on some hay in a stable. The next morning we crossed the river with the water up to the hubs on the wagons. I had the grain deck of my wagon loaded with lumber to make a 12 x 16 stable, something to get into until we had time to dig a dugout. We reached our land the next afternoon. We made carnp. The first night was cold but not stormy. We got our water from a buffalo wallow the first few days. We soon had our stable up with the stove in one end and one team in the other end. The other team stood outside blanketed. The elements favored us. We got our dugout built before any storms came. We found water holes in a dry creek about a mile west. The middle of April, 1887, found us with our house, 12 x 16 finished. It was three in the ground, half windows, board roof with tar paper and blocks of sod to hold the tar paper on. Our bed and stove were up and we were ready for any spring storms and we had a few before summer. We, Wilson and I, broke about 35 acres each on our own claims; the law was five acres broken the first year, and five the second year. We had to plant ten acres of trees, cuttings or seeds on our tree claim. by C.J. YVhitmore WHITMORE FAMILY F746, Early Recollections of Eastern Colorado Wilson returned to Nebraska late in Julv. He had an interest in a threshing machine and operated it the balance of the summer. I stayed and in August got work with my team on a Republican River ranch, the Double Wrench, their brand, helping put up hay. I was there for six weeks. I then returned to my claim and plowed sod for a 12 x 16 hours and a 12 x 16 stable. I laid up the walls then and put on the roof the following spring. Then in the latter part of October, 188?, I started for Nebraska driving my mules. I camped out each night. The following spring I returned to my claim. There I exchanged work with the neighbors, and got my house and stable roofed. Then in July of 1888 I went back to the ranch on the Republican River and helped with the haying. I remained on the claim that winter. In the summer of 1889 I went to Colorado Springs looking for work. I had answered an ad in the paper regarding a ranch cook job. Mr. Thurlow, the president of the Thurlow Livestock Co., also president of one of the Colorado National Banks, was the man that I had to see. I was timid about approaching a bank official, especially about ajob I knew nothing about. I was directed to his private office where by direct questioning he soon learned I was not a cook. He asked if I cared to work as a ranch hand. I sure did, so he gave me a letter to the ranch foreman directing him to put me to work as cook until a real cook showed up. The ranch was located 60 miles east of Colorado Springs, out on the plains of El Paso County. The railroad ran within 35 miles of the ranch, then I could catch a ride with a freighter hauling supplies to the ranch. The driver, Bill Skinner, made three trips a week. He drove four mules, single line, That was the first single hitch I had ever since since leaving Ohio years before. Skinner used two wagons, the lead wagon loaded heavy and the trail wagon somewhat lighter. The load was about a ton per mule. In crossing sand creeks, if necessary, he would drop the trail wagon, pull across then pick up the trail wagon again. We drove 15 miles that afternoon to Holtwald. a sheep ranch. This ranch was his regular stopping place, then the next day we went on to the ranch. They had a shearing crew at work (this is describing the Holtwald setup) and Bill took me around after we had gotten our supper. The shearers and other employees would gather in small groups, two, three or four, spread a blanket and gamble for the shearing tokens. Each man got a token for each sheep he sheared. The token represented 5 cents, the price for shearing at that time. A good man could turn out 80 to 100 per day. Bill said that professional gamblers got most of their money. All in that crew were Mexicans. We were on our way by sunrise the next morning. We arrived at the ranch at 3 p.m. and that gave Bill time to unload his wagons, grease them and prepare to leave the next day. I started cooking. I didn't do too bad because when the real cook arrived I had a job. The post office, Sanborn, Colorado, was located at this ranch. The post office itself was a cubby hole in one end of the kitchen, and when the foreman was not around. I had this small job also. by C.J. Whitmore WHITMORE FAMILY F747 Early Recollections of Eastern Colorado I soon foud out that the main part of cooking was to prepare plenty of good solid food and not to let anyone get up from the table not satisfied. They furnished plenty of coffee, potatoes, ham, bacon, rice, and canned goods of all kinds. Our meat mostly during hot weather was mutton. I had to do my own butchering. It usually took two a week. When fall came they would kill a beef. The boys never kicked to me about so much mutton. I would roast the hind quarters, and make stew of the neck and ribs. Late that summer the outfit bought 5,000 mixed sheep from New Mexico. These were tailed up, and it was about October when they arrived. It was really too late for dipping but it was very necessary. The men hastily fixed up the dipping plant about a half mile up the creek from the ranch buildings. Everything went fine until they were almost through and then a late October rain started and before dark it had turned to snow. The wind came up and a regular blizzard raged. Our ranch buildings were protected by a large grove of cottonwood trees, and just south was a hay meadow. Everybody was out and excitement raged. Nearly all those sheep that were recently dipped were still wet and had to have shelter. They were taken down to the meadow out of the direct course of the wind. We stayed up all night. I kept coffee and lunch on the table all night long. The men kept the sheep moving about so none piled up. There was hardly a loss. Reports came in later from other outfits where the herders had no extra help, that the losses were heavy. The sheep had piled up and smothered. I stayed there cooking for almost six months. I just gave myself time to get back on my own claim before the six months expired. They offered me $35.fi) per month. I was getting $30.00, the ranch hands 925.00. They also offered to turn over the proceeds from the post office, which was about $60.00 per year, if I would stay but I had to decline and get back to my claim. I had spoken to Frank Gilpin, the manager of the Maryland Land and Cattle Co. They got their mail at Sanborn Post Office. I was interested in the work for the next summer. 1890. He said that he might need help and to write to him when I got foot loose. I did not go to Nebraska that winter. One met some curious characters in those days. We had a Mr. Vanderpool from Glen Falls, New York. He was red-bearded and looked in perfect health, but had come west for lung trouble. Then there was George and Steve. George was English and in his fifties and had been in the English army. He said that he had served in India and he had a big �scar on his face. The foreman told me they were both good workers, but when they were laid off in the fall would get drunk as soon as they hit town and their money would be gone cook and I were the only white employees. The rest were Mexican herders. I was my own boss after we got the hay in the stack. My work was fixing up winter camps. The winter camps did not demand much water. I would kitchen at night while I was cleaning up and take a team and scraper and make temporary dams to catch snow water and sometimes a shallow well with a pump. With snow on the ground the sheep did not get water, so they told me. When this was finished I loaded my in a few days. George would come in the tell long tales about fighting in India. I liked outside work better. The new job with the Maryland Company gave me a lot of riding, and I got almost to the Kansas line. This round up was to bring back cattle to the home range. Settlers had come in and the cattlemen had to get out. There were over fifty riders in the round up. I counted five grub wagons and camp cooks. by C.J. T[hitmore WHITMORE FAMILY F74a Early Recollections of Eastern Colorado I shall attempt to give some description of the men and women who were owners and managers of the different companies that I worked for in Colorado, during the closing days of the free range. The Cap Rock Cattle Company range on the South Fork of the Republican River in Eastern Colorado. A Mr. Ed McCrillis was the manager and part owner. He was born in New England and was in business in Boston prior to coming to Colorado in 1876. His wife lived at the ranch in the summers, in the owner's house. He had a boy hired to tend the yard and to act as houseboy. He saddled her horse, hitched it to the buckboard, etc. I was told that the hard winters broke him. In 1889 the old Elbert County was divided and Kit Carson County was formed. Ed McCrillis was elected County Clerk. The Thurlow Livestock Company's foreman told me that they made money. Mr. Thurlow came from New England. He told me himself that he came to Colorado laying on a cot in a baggage car. He had had lung trouble. Their range was the Big Sandy, Big and Little Horse Creek, and Steels Fork Creek in Eastern Colorado. They had a reported 20,000 sheep and 1,000 cattle. The Maryland Land and Cattle Company was incorporated under the laws of Maryland. Barney Gilpin was the President and his brother, Frank Gilpin, was manager. Pete Henis was the round up foreman and Frank Summers was the ranch foreman. Their range was both Horse Creeks, Big Sandy and Rush Creek. Barney stayed in Maryland, but I saw him once in awhile when he came to the ranch to visit. He looked prosperous like a good businessman should. Frank spent his winters in Maryland. He was a good polo player. He married an eastern girl in 1890. They spent the summer at the ranch, and had a colored housekeeper and chore boy. They had a lot of house guests the summer I worked there. I understood they ran into financial difficulties later and lost the ranch. I worked for Mr. llamp and Silsbee, sheepmen, for three months after the Gilpins exploded. They were on Rush Creek, fifteen miles west of Hugo, Colorado. Hamp was an Englishman and Silsbee was a Yankee from Connecticut. The old gentleman who was a WICKHAM FAMILY F749 camp outfit and went down to the ranch. They set me to hauling their winter grain from the Rock Island Railroad to the ranch. The name of the station was Resloes and it was 15 miles to the ranch. We used four mules and two wagons. I would make a trip a day and a long day it was. The sorting was completed and the remaining sheep in winter camp, so the bosses were leaving; Mr. Hamp to New England and Mr. Silsbee to Connecticut. They bid me good-bye. I left for Resoles and got to town about 11:30 a.m. The town was composed of a section house, depot and one store. I contacted the agent and located the car and found that the freight hadn't been paid for. No paid freight bill, no feed. I knew that the bosses were leaving from Hugo that day and wouldn't be back, so the agent telegraphed Hugo. The bosses paid the bill and I lost over an hour. That hour was important. I would leave the ranch before sunup, and get into town about 11 a.m.. water and feed the mules, then start to load. The grain was in 100 Ib. sacks. The grain was in the middle of the car and coal at both ends. It took a bit ofwork to load four tons. I had one sand creek to cross and had to drop the trail wagon. I would eat my lunch on the way home, arriving there about dark. This meant unloading after supper, greasing the wagons, and loading mule feed for the next day. I would be about ten before I would hit the hay. I have often wondered who the cook was; if I knew his name I have forgotten. That was in 1891. The next spring I got a letter from a ranchman living near River Bend, Colorado, offering me a job, but I had a job in Wyoming doing some surveying work. For the next several years I remained in Wyoming doing a number of different jobs during the summers, but always returned to my claim in Kit Carson County in the winter. I always received my mail at Lamborn, Kansas, as that was the name of the town at that time. It later was changed to Kanorado. During the summer of 1894 I had the Rev. Willis care for the trees on my tree claim. He had homesteaded not too many miles from me. As it was a dry year he was glad to receive the extra income. I paid him $25.00 for the gummer's work. I married Miss Gertrude Bartlett of Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1895. She had been a schoolteacher at Taymond, Nebraska. We made our home in Lincoln, Nebraska, until we moved to Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Copied from the records of the late C.J. Whitmore. Written in 1950 bv Whitmore, 85 years old. by C.J. Whitmore William McKinley Wickham, Jr. and Lorris I.A. Wickham married on December 25th, 1933. Picture was taken on November 25,1970. William M. Wickham, Jr. John Foster, born September 5, 1942, and Samuel Paul, born August 18, 1945, graduat- ed from Flagler High School. They too worked in the store and for various farmers around Flagler. They joined the Army and served in Viet Narn. Sam spent a second term in Viet Nam. When they returned home they enrolled and graduated from Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, then transferred to the University of Northern Colorado. John married Sandra Lynn Schulz of Holyoke on December 14, 1969. They built a home in Greeley and she taught at Windsor and he was Assistant Manager of the Univer- sity Book Store. They moved to Colorado Springs where he was Manager of the Colorado College Book Store. He later went into Real Estate business, and then joined Fitzgerald, Talman, Inc. as a Senior Account Executive Stock Broker. Sandra taught Special Education and kindergarten, and is currently teaching third grade in District 11. They have 2 sons: Jason Todd, an eighth grader. He played football, and has been accepted into the Pikes Peak Youth String Orchestra with his cello. Gregory John is in the sixth grade. He enjoys Science projects at school, and is interested in becoming a cartoonist. Both are becoming accomplished pianists. Sam worked as a master carpenter in the construction of homes in Greeley and Limon. He married Karen Lynn Shamburg of Burlington June 21, 1975. Construction work became slow so he joined the staff of Lincoln Community Hospital at Hugo, in the mainte- nance department, and was honored as "Employee of the Year" for 1986. They have a son Robert William, in the fifth grade and a daughter Samantha Pau- �line, a first grader. The children of William, Jr. and Lorris Wickham still hold fast to their "roots" at Flagler. Orris Lee, born November 13, 1936, graduated from Flagler High School in 1955, and from University of Northern Colorado in 1959. He worked in his parents' hardware store and for different farm families during summers. In 1960 he graduated from Navy Officer Candidate School at Newport, Rhode Island. and served aboard the aircraft carrier "The Oriskany". In 1963 he started teaching Industrial Arts and Chemistry at Kremmling, Colorado. Alice Barbara Raymond from 9airfield, Iowa was teaching Home Economics there. They were manied December 27, 1964, and in 1966 moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming where he has taught Industrial Arts in Carey Junior High for 22 years. Alice has done substitute teaching in the Cheyenne schools during these years. They have 3 sons: Clayton Douglas, in his second year at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, majoring in Fire Fighting Sciences and Law Enforcement. Brent Dirk is a senior at East High, and is anticipating becoming a pilot, perhaps at the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. Ted William is a freshman in high school, and is very interested in computer science. Orris became deeply involved in the Naval Reserves at Fort Warren, Cheyenne, and worked on military projects at various points in the United States. He retired in 1986 with the rank of Commander. He continues to serve as Blue and Gold Officer in recruiting for the Naval Academy. His extra-curricular activity now is Manager/Secretary of their Laramie County Fair Board. Alice has been very active in exhibiting in the culinary arts division of the fair, and has won Grand Champion numerous times. by Lorris T9ickham WICKHAM FAMILY F750 William M. Wickham, Sr. The winter of 1931 is remembered as the "Towner School Bus Tragedy". Mr. Wickham had 3 school bus routes to Second Central. He, Foster and Bill each drove a route. The morning of the storm all 3 buses got to school before the storm broke in full fury - they turned back home. Mr. Wickham got the Helmes children home and to the Orris Sloans when he could get no further. He put the bus in the big barn and stayed with them 3 days before he could ride Orris'horse Trixy to his home. It was after dark when he got to the draw south of his house. He called and called to get the attention of those at home. They brought a lantern so he could see to get across the bridge. Foster got all of his bus children, including the George Blancken youngsters, to their hohes, and when he got home Ione was making supper. Bill took Bruce Stone home - a small adobe house at "uncle Sol Stone's" place. He then got the Hamilton and Berry children, cousins of the Hamiltons, home (on the Ackerman place). His bus got stuck in the draw between Hamiltons and Matzkes (on the Wilson place). They braved the storm and he walked the Matzke children, Evangeline and Emogene Wickham to Matzkes, then walked home, a mile east. Bill had a 1928 Ford roadster. He put chains on it and started to go pick up the girls. The snow blew into the motor and it stalled in the yard gate, so he was forced to give up. When the storm subsided after 2 days there was nothing but the very top of the car to be seen. Tom, just a little tot asked, "What's that black thing in our gate?" Mr. Wickham, Bill and Foster made their way afoot to the stranded bus. They started scooping and were soon joined by Frank Matzke, Walter Hamilton and Elmer Buffum. They were then able to get the little girls home. Following the Towner incident when the driver and some of the children froze to death, all school buses were required to carry blankets. Mr. Wickham also put a portable kerosene heater in each bus, but never used them. Another incident found Mr. Wickham with a team hitched to a sled, horse blankets over the students' heads and a kerosene lamp under that to help keep them warm. Mr. Wickham stood at the front of the sled, driving the team, icicles 6" long forming on him. There was an understanding that if a bus motor conked out - just drain the radiator and walk to the closest farm house. It John Wanczyk, a student, tried - at to watch out the side to help Bill stay on the road, but they slipped off into the ditch, and the motor died. The "self starter" was out in front - they cranked and cranked, but no spark! - Iifted the hood - water was pouring offthe overheated engine - so - drain the radiator and walk to the Van Wanning place! Bill took the lead and Julia Wanczyk happened! brought up the end of the line. Van Wannings were having dinner, invited the group to join them at the big pot of beans and she made another huge batch of biscuits. Bedtime, and all the kids bedded down on the floor with their coats. Mr. Van Wanning put a big chunk of coal in the heating stove - and again during the night. Next morning the boys helped milk or put hay down out of the mow to feed the stock. The sun came out clear and bright, and with a 5 gallon can of water and a scoop Bill walked back north to the vehicle. It started easily. The Wanczyk and Joe Short children walked home. Bill got the Ben Short kids home, and more water for the radiator, and also at Fred Griffiths, and eventually got himself home. Foster got his bus to Fred Martins (on the Bill Conarty place), and she too made biscuits by the dozens to go with beans. One bitter cold morning when Foster arrived at school with his bus load Mr. Finley, teacher who lived at the school, asked if he'd like tojoin them for breakfast. Foster replied, "No, thank you, Mr. Finley, I had breakfast this morning." The Westover boys would come to Wickhams with rocks in their pockets to play. They once brought gourds which they threw and broke. Seeds started unwanted gourd plants around the farmstead. by Lorris Wickham WICKHAM, LORRIS AND WILLIAM, JR. F75r William McKinely Wickham, Jr. 1-25-1907 at West Plains, Mo., son of William McGlinchey and Susie Alberta (Brisbin) Wickham. Lorris Ida Agnes Sloan 7-13-1915, daughter of Samuel Wesley and Gertrude Mae (Kious) Sloan, married 12-25-1933. Children: Orris Lee 1936, John Foster 1942, and Samuel Paul 1945. Lorris was in college at Ft. Collins and when school was out they moved to Lavington Ranch SE of Flagler. Wages 930 mo., a cow to milk and grain to raise chickens, and a pig to butcher. $5 a mo. went for a Montgomery Ward gas motor washing machine - the envy of neighbors, but utilized by many. Bill's father and younger children lived 2 mi. NE. They came Saturdays to bake bread and wash. The drouth, depression and dust storms were devastating to the whole community. The May 31, 1935 Sand Creek flood brought destruction in its path and death to neighbor Gesnens. The prairie dog town N. of the house harbored rattlesnakes and one afternoon Bill and Lorris dug out and killed more than 150. They joined Ladies' Social Circle (LSC) which his mother had helped organize in 1915. Ladies took turns entertaining - a delicious dinner, then patching, embroidering or quilting, etc. for the hostess, and the men played pitch. There were school func- tions, family gathering, card parties and pooling ofration stamps to have cake refreshments. The family moved in 1937 to 25 mi. S. of Flagler to work for Carl Bledsoe. Bill helped with cattle, and sheep, while Lorris cooked for the crews, and Mrs. Bledsoe bottle-fed bum lambs. A rattlesnake coiled beneath the baby's high chair was a frightening experience. In 1938 they moved to Swink and worked for Ora Dunavan on his dairy, in the watermelon, cantaloupe, and tomato fields; 1940 to the Sloan place SE ofFlagler, and in 1941 bought the Renken place 3 mi. E. of Flagler. They farmed and milked 20 cows, and delivered cottage cheese (a ton one summer), dressed chickens, and baked goods to stores and cafe. Ed Fanselaus, Schuyler Shorts, Roy Tarpennings, Eddie Fullers, Slim Goodwins, Gene Nicholses and other neighbors exchanged farm, and household work, and had many exciting pitch games. The farm was traded for a hardware in town in 1948. Bill and Orris maned the store. John, Sam, and their little dog Snooks were constant shadows of Grandpa Sloan. Lorris kept books at the store, and worked at the Flagler Hospital - from nurse aide, to assistant in surgery, to full time cook, and 'gal Friday' until it closed. The store was sold at auction in 1955 with about 91000 clear and much more out on bills never collected. Bill worked for Oliver Blancken at John Deere. He, and his sons, Kenneth Mort, Red, Miller, Elmer Joy, Pat Burgess, and others enjoyed big game hunting. Bill also enjoyed school and community activities, and held offices in Odd Fellow Lodge - including District Deputy Grand Master. He took great pride in his gardening, assembling, delivering machinery, or any task he performed. The hospital closed in 1963. The boys were in collese or Militarv Service. Lorris went to �: w '":i; : I t l:, a& r. 11 The children of William and Susie Wickham taken in 1982. (7 of their 12 children): Back row: Tom, Ted, John. Front row: Evangeline Holtzinger, Irene Stinton. Ione Tolton, and William, Jr. Taken at the p mountain cabin on Evangeline and husband, Gerald Holtzinger. ""aa a Back row: Alice and Orris Wickham, John and Sandra Wickham, Brent and Ted Wickham, sons of Orris. Son Clay not present. Front: Karen and Sam Wickham with their children Samantha and Robert, Bill and Lorris Wickham, Jason and Greg, sons of John. Taken at our 50th wedding anniversary at Flagler Baptist Church, December 1983. organize Flagler High Alumni Assoc. in 1949, and served as secretary, and as President. Was a 4-H and Cub Scount leader. She enjoyed canning, baking, cooking, and was culinary Grand Champion at the county fair at Burlington. There were college extension classes from Greeley, Bible classes from their seminary in Kansas City, Cake Decorating classes, and teaching cake decorating classes. Orris, John, and Sam. Bill and Lorris Wickham. Taken at our home, the house my father built in Flagler, CO on our 25th wedding anniversary, December 25th, 1958. Baking, decorating wedding and anniversary cakes (from scratch), and catering receptions is still a hobby (from 1941). Since retirement, has baked at their church camp, in Black Forest north of Colorado Springs. Church and Medical Mission Tours have also been a part of her retirement - to China and Central America twice each, Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Zaire, Europe (Vienna, Munich, the Passion Play at Oberamergau, Geneva, London), India and Nepal. She enjoys sharing those experiences through colored slide presentation, and artifacts. bv Lorris Wickham Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing in Denver - baked weekends for school faculty and made a Hospital anniversary cake each year to pay tuition. She graduated in 1966' and worked as office nurse in Limon 15 years' She brought what medical services she could to Flagler to save people a trip to Limon. Bill retired in Jan. 1972, but worked part time at John Deere for Tom Kennedy, and John Coryell. Oct. 19, 1973, while picking the last of his tomatoe harvest, he suffered a stroke, and entered Prairie View Nursing Home 1-12-'74. Lorris moved to Limon. They moved to Aurora in 1979, Bill to Camellia Care Center. All family members were baptized in Flagler Baptist Church, and were active in its program. Lorris served as Sunday School teacher, on the church board, as clerk, and offices in American Baptist Women including President of Eastern Assoc. Later of Rocky Mountain Assoc. in Denver, and was on the state board 22 yearc. She helped WICKHAM, WILLIAM M., SR. F752 William McGlinchev Wickham t874 - 1943. Susie Alberta Brisbin 1875 - 1915. Married 12-25-1896, Syracuse, Ill. Children: Harold T. 1898 - 1978, Myrtle Irene 1900, Foster Samuel 1904 - 197?, William McKinIey 1907, Malvina Emogene 1910 - 5 mo., John Milton 1914. Will and Susie first lived in Mich., he was a telegrapher. Moved to Mo., but heard of a 50 A. farm in Howell Co. Scraped together money to buy it and moved in 1905. It was a Garden of Eden! - but rocks, rocks! Red clover the only cash crop' Raised corn to feed horses, cows, and pigs. Garden, orchard, woods provided vegetables, fruits and nuts for the cave. Apples made into apple butter over an open fire or taken to cider mill. They dried corn, apples, made hominy, and molasses. Lived near White Church, community center. Fourth of July and Fall Festival celebrations with horse-powered merry-gorounds, Iemonade stands, bands, fire crackers, baseball, horse shoes, and basket dinners. Homesteading in Colo. sounded like Paradise - 320 A. of Free land just for living on it and cultivating the land. Grandma Brisbin had come from Ill. the spring of 1911 to claim her homestead 10 mi. SE of Flagler, and had a cement black house built. Wickhams came in Oct. Will and Harold came by emigrant car with the stock, machinery, and'goodies'from the cave. Susie and the other children were met at the train by Grandma Brisbin with borrowed team and wagon. No rocks - to build a house, No trees - for fuel, nuts or fence posts, No springs - for water for home or stock; just wide open prairies - beautiful in spring when buffalo grass was green and prickly pear cacti in bloom - but treacherous on bare feet! Very little rain - so gardens and crops meager. Sod house built for the family and a well drilled on Grandma's land, later a frame house and well on the Wickham homestead % mi. north. Children herded cattle, carried a hoe to kill rattlesnakes, picked up cow chips for winter fuel supply. Eventually posts and barbed wire bought in Flagler and fences built on some property lines. Sears Roebuck phones were connected to wire fences. Children walked LVz mi. to Albright school - Iva Reynolds a teacher. 1915 small school districts consolidated and Second Central School, 10 grades, opened. Susie died when John was 10 mo. old. Irene was'mother'for the family, till WiU married Anna Rose Valenta 1886 - 1929, on 6-24-'16. Children: Anna Rose 1918-1958, Geneva Jane 1919, Theodore Roosevelt 1920, Evangeline Veronica 1922, Ruth Emogene 1924, Thomas Lee 1927. Gertrude Sloan, Minnie Blancken, neighbors, and Dr. H.L. Williams delivered the babies. Will and Rose had pride in community, and school. They, and the older boys drove school buses, and experienced stalling in snow storms, walking children to closest house to stay overnight - or longer. They bought a new �Chevrolet truck chassis, and built wooden bus bodies. Will had many terms on the school board. Family gathered evenings around the kitchen range while Will read books to them, and Rose crocheted edgings for the little girls' dresses, which she made Smoky Hill was located seventeen miles S.E. of Burlington, Colorado. After a four month "whirlwind courtship", Leona and I were married on September 2, 1934, at Immanuels Lutheran Church eleven miles N.E. of Bethune. We heard that two people could live as cheap as one and our possessions included love and a dime. The time was during the great depression of the mostly from flour sacks. Entertainment: school programs, debates, students by bus to Flagler to shows such as Ben Hur, box suppers, card parties, summer parties, Lost 1930's and the drouth of the Midwestern Springs to dances, Ladies' Social Circle (Grandma Brisbin and Susie were charter members in 1915) for a bountiful dinner. They patched overalls, and socks, tied comforters on quilted for the hostess while the men played pitch or horseshoes. Rose was noted for delectable Bohemian foods - poppy seed biscuits, breads, and at butchering time the souse, blood pudding, sausage stuffed into the cleaned intestines. They rasied a big garden and put up lots of foods for winter. Had lots of pinto beans, sorted seed corn kernel by kernel (rats played havoc with it one year). The youngsters herded cattle, were rivals in collecting rattlesnake rattles (jerked snakes out of their holes by the tail for the dogs to kill so they could capture the rattles), trapped skunks, and sometimes got to go to town on Sat. with their folks to ship 5 gal. cans of cream to Beatrice Creamery, trade eggs for groceries and went to free shows provided by merchants. Rose died in 1929 - Tom was 2. Will took the 6 children to Texas that Christmas to see their maternal relatives - a memorable trip in a new 1929 Chevrolet car with no heater, and inclement weather. Anna Rose stayed home from school the first year, and Jone the next to fill the role as 'mother'. Mrs. Fred Martin baked bread for them until the girls learned. Weekends they washed (hand pow- states. In February 1935, following a public sale, the Gottlieb Adolf family and us moved to Newberg, Oregon. Many families from the Midwestern states migrated to the west coast in search of work to support their families. George and Leona Fanselau Wiedman married September 2,1934. three months old and mother and I lived with attended and graduated from Burlington High School. Darrell graduated from Wart- Stahlecker until March 25, LgL4, when my mother married Gottlieb Adolf. We moved to mothers farm, which became burg College of WAverly, Iowa where he met and married Darlene Petrek. At the present time he is on his 27th year of teaching in the Denver Public Schools. my grandparents Martin and Katherine hers following my fathers death. As a stepfather, Gottlieb Adolf, was special to me, and I shared equally with my brothers Gottlieb Jr. and Herman and sister Leah. I attended a one room adobe elementary school at Yale, Colorado. Eight grades were They rasied turkeys, and in the fall the family picked and pinned them (innards remained) taught by one teacher. Our earlier mode of transportation was a top buggy or spring wagon until 1917 when our family purchased a new Model T. Ford touring car. The immediate community was mainly of German Lutheran decent and worship ser- Hugo. vices at Immanuels were taken seriously. The church yard on Sunday mornings was a ered machine), ironed, baked break, and cleaned house. Later they baked and washed with the gas motor machine at bro. Bill's home - 2 mi. by cart and'Old Nig', the horse. and took them to the marketing center in The younger family all attended Flagler High School - stayed with Strohmeyers, Rowdens or brother Bill. Tom enlisted in the Navy after graduation. He was not yet 21 so brother Foster signed for him. Will moved to Flagler in L942.He became ill and spent some time in Brush with Irene and in Denver with Foster and with Evangeline, and died ?-121943. by Lorris Wickham WIEDMAN, GEORGE AND LEONA (FANSELAU) F753 I was born on December 9, 1910, near Yale, Colorado, sixteen miles N.W. of Burlington, Colorado on the farm homesteaded bv mv father. I was named George Martin foilotit of my grandfathers. My parents, Jacob Wiedman and Barbara Stahlecker were manied February 3, 1910. My father died March, 1911, at the age of thirty. At the time of his death I was only Going wages for a man, were $.25 an hour. and no coffee break. Even then jobs were scarce. Our two sons, Darrell Orin and Garvin George, were born in Oregon. In February, 1939, we moved back to Colorado to our original farmstead. The plains states had received some moisture and some crops were being raised. From 1989 until 1962 we lived on our farm located twelve miles N.W. of Burlington. Following eight years of elementary education at Emerson School, Darrell and Garvin spectacular sight with varied types ofwagons and buggies drawn by teams of horses. Some young men rode their saddle horses, sporting elaborate saddles, and bridles. They were envied by those with lesser gear and horses. Sunday afternoons were the highlight of the week. Following church services, we entertained or were entertained by relatives or friends and families. The elders would visit and rest while the children improvised their own entertainment, which varied from foot racing and tug of war (for the boys), to drowning out gophers and catching them. The girls made mud pies and played with paper dolls cut out of Sears Roebuck and Company catalogs and etc. At the age of eighteen I bought my first car, a 1926 Model T. Ford Coupe, which was next to impossible to start when the temperature got much below freezing. Anti-freeze was unheard of and keeping a radiator from freezing became a chore in winter. I lived and worked with my parents until my marriage to Leona Fanselau. Leona Gertrude was born April 30, 1916, the second daughter of Henry and Lillie Fanselau nee Bamesberger. Mildred and Geneva were the other two daughters of the family. Leona attended Smoky Hill School for ten years, graduating from there in 1931. Garvin married Sherry Kleweno in 1961 and they took over the family farm. Darrell and Garvin were both drafted and served in the U.S. Army. On September 2, Lg84, Leona and I celebrated our 50th Wedding Anniversary, which was sponsored for us by our sons and their families. by George Wiedman WIGTON, DEAN AND ARLENE F754 John Wigton was born in Kansas and lived most of his early life South of Kanorado. Kansas. He was one of a family of ten. Here he worked on the family farm until he was married to Florence Bogart. Florence came from a family of five. She spent her early years on her father's farm Southeast of Burlington. After Florence and John were married in January 1930, they moved twelve miles south of Bethune. While living here Dean was born and later Florence taught school in the surrounding communities many years and then she was County Superinten- dent of Schools. They moved eight miles Southeast of Vona in 1934. Later. thev had another daughter, Nadine. The Joirn Wigtort family farmed and raised cattle. Most of the cattle roamed for miles as there was free range and all fields were fenced. Leander Becker was born and raised South of Vona in the German Settlement. There were ten children in his family and they all helped on their parents farm. The family attended church regularly at the Mennonite Church. Leander attended eight years of schooling at the Pleasant Valley School. In 19BB he � https://kccarchives.cvlcollections.org/files/original/17/509/Families-W2.pdf 59b6e6d2172cfa80cdbd1970cd170ab9 PDF Text Text married Madeline Ott. Madeline attended Plainview School North of Vona and then attended Seibert High School. They lived and farmed South of Vona for a short time and then moved to Monte Vista, Colorado where Arlene was born. A few years later they moved back to Vona where they ran the Vona Telephone Exchange. After a short time of living in Vernon, Colorado, they bought their present farm in 1938 and moved back to Vona. Arlene attended the Pleasant Valley School for seven years. The school then consolidated with Vona. It was on this farm that Donna and Douglas were born and attended Vona School. Arlene Becker and Dean Wigton were married in 1954, and lived at Smoke Angle for four years while Dean taught. They bought their farm southwest of Stratton and started a dairy and Dean also taught at Vona for eleven years. They had seven girls Radean, Charlene, Shirley, Janell, Kathy, Rhea Kay, native lime and we never had prettier walls than those were for when the lamp was lighted the walls sparkled as though there were sparks of gold or silver in them. were born: Nellie Jane Yale, 2/12/1886 2/4/1978; Charles Seward Wilcox, 6/13/1889 We lived 3 years on this place and hauled water all the time. We got water from a man 8/18/1893; Earl Dewey Wilcox, 1/18/1898. 7 7/10/1926; William Wallace Wilcox, /I5/L89L - 2/2/L96a; Eva May Gergen, by Irene Wilcox called Way and also from the old well in Burlington. When there was no wind or repairs for the wells we got our water from the lagoons. I remember one family that lived a mile from us and had to get water from us because they had no team or wagon. They would come with their buckets and cary the water home. There was a well east of us, where Peconic is now located, and we thought if we could get there early, we (my brother and I) we would get our barrels filled and get home early. So we rose at four o'clock in the morning and when we reached the well, there were twenty barrels ahead of us, so we decided to go to the well in Burlington. We drove the six miles and when we got to WILCOX, WILLIAM WALLACE F756 William (Billy) Wilcox was the only one of the five children of Wallace Hose and Mary Margaret Wilcox who stayed in the Burlington community. He was born in Burlington, Colorado on July 15, 1891 after his parents gave up their homestead and moved to town. Burlington we found others there and deci- As a young boy, he attended the Burlington and Judy. Dean has been active in Boy Scouts and they have both been active in 4-H. Radean married Allan Mattson. They now live in Lawndale, California and they have ded to wait our turn. Just before the last man got his barrels filled, the two men at the pump came down a bit hard on the handle and it snapped in two. There was no way of fixing Charlene married Randy Gorton. They live Southwest ofStratton and now run the dairy. They have two boys, Rodney and Bryan. Shirley married Larry Squire. They live in Colorado Springs and have one son, Benjamin. Janell married Jay Pettibone and they presently live at Kanorado, Kansas. Kathy is attending college studying nursing. Rhea Kay and Judy are still living at home and Well, we inquired around a bit and learned that there was a rancher nearby by the name of Bevelheimer who had a well about LVz miles west. So we drove there. We found no one at home but we hitched our team up to the windlass and it did not take long to fill our 4 barrels. But we did not get home until about 8:00 P.M. that night. A number of wells were dug by hand and it cost about $40.00 to put in curbing which was needed to keep the sand from filling in. So you see not many could have wells. We are still using the chairs we brought out school and helped his father with the dray business. He always had a love for animals, especially horses, and for many years was responsible for the livestock for the fairs and rodeos. He would travel to all the surrounding towns to pick up the stock horses and cattle and then deliver them back again after two daughters, Anna Lee and Bethany. attending school. by Rhea Wigton WILCOX, WALLACE IIOSE F755 I was born June 6, 1853 at Courtland, Illinois. I spent my youth in Illinois 65 miles W. of Chicago. When 18 years of age I moved with my parents into Champagne County, Ill. There I married Mary Margaret Seward on March 26, 1885. (Mary Margaret was born to Samuel and Ophelia Seward on Aug. 25, 1861 in Rantoul, Ill.) She died April4, 1985 at age of 96 yrs., and 7 months. She was baptized at age 10 and was a life-long member of the Methodist Church and a charter member of the Burlington Methodist Church. I came to Colorado on March 7, 1887, with my wife and baby. We cnme by train to Stratton, Nebr.. Then, after buying a wagon and team, we went on to Benkleman where I left my wife and baby with my brother-inlaw, then I came on out to Burlington. My brother. Alvin N. Wilcox (later the first sheriff of Kit Carson County) located me on a pre-emption adjoining his. My claim being the NW% of Sec. 15-8-43. When I first came to my claim, there was not a thing in sight and one could see ten miles away. After staking my claim, I returned to Nebr. to bring my wife and baby and was gone about a week. When I ca-e back to my claim, I counted sixty shacks and dugouts from the high point ofmy land. My brother had a frame house on his claim, so we lived in that until we had our sod house built. We plastered our houses with it and no repairs this side of Haigler, Nebr. with us. We had no roof on the house so the first night they had to be left out in a storm. My wife was in tears. But it didn't hurt them and today even our great-grandchildren have played on them. One of the first nights, a very heavy rain storm came up and the roof of my brother's shack leaked so we rolled up mattresses, covered them with oilcloth and my wife and daughter sat on top of them. She held an umbrella and kept fairly dry. The water ran down a cowtrail and into a dugout, it soaked my brother's books and trunks. I have often wished for such rains since then when we needed them so much. The first year I paid taxes in Kit Carson County, I paid just 700. Rolled Oats were selling at two cents a pound so I bought a dollar's worth. When I got home I found worms in them. I haven't been able to eat oats since. My wife ordered stove polish and the storekeeper wanted to know what it was like and how one used it; anyhow, I could not get it. The only meat we had was salt "sowbelly" which we bought in large slabs at 40 a pound. We would get so tired of eating it. For a while we bought milk from a neighbor, then we bought a cow. But we never kept a herd of cows or horses. My team was a pair of sorrel broncos and they were light for farm work, but I did manage to break up 40 acres, which I put into corn. After living here almost four years I bought the dray line in Burlington and carried the mail from the post office to the depot. I was engaged in the dray business for a number of years. I served on the town council from July 3, 1893, to April 14, 1895. I was also town marshall for 13 years. To this union 5 children the fair or rodeo. At the age of 19, he married Lillian Mather Jan. 5, 1910. Lillian was the daughter of Arthur and Maude Mather. (Maude Mather will be better known as Maude Smith). Lillian died 10-23-1915. Around 1912, he took a homestead out on the river but stayed only a couple years moving back to town. To this union was born three children: Kenneth George Wilcox 7-zI-LglD L223-t952. Hazel Grace Wilcox 4-13-1912 - 3-7-1915. Elmer Wallace Wilcox 7-5-19L4 L974. - 1-9- On Oct. 2, L919, William married Ella Esther Homm. (Esther was born 8-25-1899 and came to Colorado from Gove Co. Kansas 1-7- 1919.) Billy worked for Hugh Baker in the elevator from 1923 to 1926. At that time. he started work for Sim Hudson who owned the Cities Service Oil Station. The station was then sold to Standard Oil and Billy worked for Standard until his retirement 715-1956. To this union three children were born: Dewey Eldon Wilcox 11-26-1921. Betty Jean Wilcox 4-L9-1924. Russell Dale Wilcox LL-5-L927. William (Billy) Wilcox passed away on February 2,1964. by Irene \ililcox WILKINSON FAMILY F.757 In the spring of L922 my parents Roy and Margaret Wilkinson and their children, Lloyd, Thelma, and Arlene moved to eastern Colorado to a farm northeast of Vona, where they made their home for many years. My father, the eldest son of John and Abbie Myers Wilkinson, was born June 23, t894 near Atwood, Ks. He had four brothers, Virgil, Jesse, Guy and Herschel and five sisters, Florence, Grace, Gladys, Opal, and Ruby. Two sisters, Opal and Ruby, and one �brother Herschel are still living. My mother was born at Everest, Ks. Sept. 8, 1896, the eldest daughter of Aloys and Susan Sobba Zuubek. She had five sisters, Agnes, Barbara, Evelyn, Bessie, and Ethel, and three brothers, Alex, Henry, and Chris. Four sisters, Barbara, Evelyn, Bessie, and Ethel are still living. Margaret, along with her parents, brothers, and sisters moved to western Ks. where she grew to womanhood. She was united in marriage to Roy Adelbert Wilkinson on March 24, 1915, at Beardsley, Ks. After moving to Co. two daughters Wilma, and Helen and two sons Earl and Loren were born. Lloyd was married to Virginia Havens; they lived at Vona for awhile, then they moved to Goodland, Ks. They were the parents of four children, Ferma, Lloyd Jr., Larry, and Sandy. They have 10 grandchildren. Thelma married Wayne Cushing; they have two sons; Gary, and Roy. Thelma and Wayne lived north of Vona after they were married. They moved to western Nebr., near Stratton where they lived many years, before retiring from farming and moved to Max, Nebr. They have six grandchildren. Arlene was married to John Fredrich; they had five children; four sons, Gene, Bud, Lowell, and Roger, and a daughter JoAnn. They lived in the Vona and Seibert areas, where they farmed. They divorced. Arlene then married Raymond Andrewjeski; they moved to Lakewood, Co. Two sons and three daughters were born; Rick, Mike, Shelley, Sue, and Teresa. Arlene has sixteen grandchildren. Wilma married Carl Woller on Dec. 5, 1948, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Stratton. Co. They farmed north of Vona until 1952, when they sold their farm and moved to Vona. Carl started working for Kit Carson County in November. I have worked in the Vona School cafeteria now, Hi-Plains Elementary, seventeen years, the last nine years as School Food Service Manager; a job I enjoy very much. The students always brighten your day. I have belonged to the Kit Carson County Carousel Association since it was started. I have really enjoyed working on the cookbooks and the other things we have done to raise money for the restoration of the Carousel so it can be enjoyed by everyone now and for the future generations. We are the parents of five children; Sharon was married to Roy Trimm in 1971 in Fl. They have one son, Scott; they live in Jacksonville, Ar. Carlton, Jr., better known as "Ace", married Kathy Monroe July 23, L972; they have two sons and a daughter, Fred, Justin and Jeanie. Ace and Kathy lived in Vona for a while, then moved to Stratton. Stanley was married to Nona Eisenbart on Aug. 12, 1972. They have one son, Brian and three daughters, Michelle, Kristine, and Victoria. They live in Stratton. Cathleen lives at home. Susan was married to Allen Eden, June 27,1981. They lived in Stratton, then they moved to Moore, Ok. Susan now lives in Stratton. Helen was married to Raymond Rose; they lived in Stratton, moving to Wichita, Ks. where their son Raymond was born. They were divorced. Helen then married Dale Gyer. They had a son, Randy. Helen has two granddaughters. Earl married Gloria Chapla; they moved to Denver after he returned from the army. They have one son Jeff and two daughters Monica, and Mona, and two grandchildren. Loren was married to Prisilla Shanks; they live in Colo. Springs. They have two daughters, Rhonda and Debbie, and one grandson living and one grandson passed away at four months. Some of the neighbors I remember the folks speaking of were the Godfreys; the Finleys, parents of Eula Browning, a very dear friend; the Gulleys, parents of Opal Boger; the Crists and the Kechters. I went to a country school. I have many fond memories of those days. We never went to school on busses. The teachers had to do everything; bring in the wood and the coal even cow chips to heat the school room. I remember when going to school north of Vona, Mrs. Helen Herrell was our teacher. We went out on the prairie on weekends picking up cow chips. The teacher sometimes had to haul water to school. They also had to keep the school clean as we didn't have janitors then. We rode horses, walked or drove a buggy maybe; sometimes in the winter when there was snow we would use a sled pulled by our faithful horse Ben to take us to school. It seemed like the road was pretty long when you were small and had to walk to and from school. Some of the teachers I remember were Alvina Becker Esarey, Miss Elva Richards, Mrs. Virginia Felch, Mrs. Grace Clark, Miss Jennie Tressel, and Mrs. Helen Herrell. by Wilma Wilkinson Woller WILLIAMS FAMILY F758 In the excitement of his birth to Marion Phillip and Doris Anne Williams at 12:30 p.m. on September L4, 1922, the intended name of Lowell Lawrence Williams was recorded as Lawrence Lowell. Thus he became known as "Lary". His grandfather, Dr. Hany Lawrence Williams, delivered him with a Mabel Gray as the attending nurse. He had a special kinship with his grandparents and when they died in 1933, he was eleven years old . . he chose not to attend their funeral. After graduating from high school, he attended the University of Denver for two years majoring in chemical engineering. His fraternity was Sigma Phi Epsilon. His college career was interrupted when he enlisted in World War II. He served in the United States Army with much of the three years spent in Guam. He was discharged March 6, 1946, a day he recalls better than any family birth date or anniversary! In 1947 he graduated from Capitol College of Pharmacy in Denver. Vivienne E. Stauffacher, born September 10, L924 in Tonica, Illinois, came to Flagler December 8, 1945, as a registered nurse to work in the hospital for Drs. McBride and Straub. Larry and Vivienne were married on September 2, L947 at the First Plymouth Congregational Church in Denver. Marion Justin Williams was born to them March 19, 1958 and died March 25, 1958. The following December 12, Lisa Louise was born on her great-grandmother's birthday . . . Jenni Hawn Williams. Lisa graduated valedictorian of her high school class in Flagler and then went on to the University of Northern Colorado where she graduated Magna cum Laude with a BA degree with majors in Acoustically Handicapped and Elementary Education. The following year she completed her master's and now teaches the hearing impaired in Grand Island, Nebraska. Lisa married Rick Allen Ward, son of Donna Stone Ward and Ed Ward of Flagler on December 19, 1981, in the First Congregational Church of Flagler. Linsay Susan Ward was born in Grand Island. Nebraska on August 3, 1985. Larry Williams has worked in the family drugstore for forty years. Vivienne has been Flagler town clerk since 1979. by Vivienne Stauffacher Williams WILLIAMS - FOSTER FAMILY F759 Andrew Allen Williams and wife, Alma (Foster) and two sons, Albert Ross and Ellis Lee, came to Colorado for health reasons in 1888 and settled near Cope. His was the first immigrant car coming into Seibert, the railroad having just been completed to that point. With the exception of one year spent in Missouri, he resided on a ranch near Cope for 16 years, where he was appointed U.S. Land Commissioner and moved to Cope. This position he resigned in 1912 to move to Flagler where he resided until his death in 1917, age 73. Alma died in L924, age 78. Both are buried in the Flagler cemetery, along with their son, Ellis and his wife, Maude. Andrew was a Civil War veteran (Co. G 55th Illinois Infantry). He was wounded during the assault on Vicksburg, from which he recovered. However in 1864 due to general poor health he was medically discharged. Many years later, a doctor in Bernadotte, Illinois advised Andrew or "Uncle A" as he was referred to by many, "to move to Colorado for the benefit of my health." At the time of his death he was a stockholder in the Flagler State Bank and a stockholder and director in the Farmers State Bank of Flagler. Andrew joined the Baptist Church when a young man, so it was natural for him to assist in building the Shiloh Baptist Church. He also helped organize the Congregational Church at Cope and was Sunday School Superintendent for more than ten years. Two Foster progenitors were Methodist ministers. In reading the Foster history, religion was an important part of their life. John Lewis Dyer, known as Father Dyer the "Snow-Shoe Itinerant." is a Foster cousin. Andrew Allen's grandfather, John Williams, Sr. was born about 1766 in Maryland. He married Mary Duncan, who was born about 1767, the daughter of Charles and KeziahDuncan. John and Marywere married in Queen Anne Parish, Prince George's County, Maryland. They had six children. Andrew's father John Jr. was born in 1802 in Adams County Ohio. He married Nancy Smalley in 1831. Nancy was born in 1813 in Adams County Ohio, the daughter of Isaac and Nancy (Wikoff) Smalley. Both are descendants of old American families. John Smalley of Devenshire England cnme to America aboard the "William and Francis." He arrived at Plymouth, Massachusetts in June 1632, (New England Historical Regis- ter, Vol. 14). Pieter Claesen Wyckoff (Wikoffl of Amsterdam Holland came to America aboard the "Renesselaerswick." He arrived �4 r Alma and Andrew Williams with their first grandchild, Ruby. Taken October tvur. Maurine (Bill) Williams, daughter of Ellis and Maude Williams. Probably taken in 191?, when they lived in Flagler. per article of their marriage and reception states the place as Cope. However, my mother always told the story that her parents were married out on the prairie in a snow storm. Ellis finished his teaching term at Boyero that school year. He also taught at Cope and Hugo. Then he and Maude settled down on ; a homestead a few miles from Cope. They had ;a:.::::. iii':'l:'l :riai:r..r. U::ii. l:r"' b & V I Ellis and Maude Williams with their daughter, Treva Williams, daughter of Ellis and Maude Treva. Taken in 1909. Williams. Probably taken in 1913. New Amsterdam, New Netherland (New York) March 4, 1637 (Hoppin, Washington Ancestry and forty other families, Vol. III' pg. (Neil) Cope. They had three children: Alma Ruby, Bira Maxine and Doris Alice. According to Andrew's obituary, Ross was a stockholder and director of a bank in Ignacio, 103). Alma was the sixth generation Foster to be born in America. Her great-great-grandfather, Rev. John Foster was a veteran of the Revolutionary War. Her grandfather, Thomas served in the War of 1812. Alma's maternal grandfather, Jonathan Alder was captured by the Mingo (Iroquois) Indians when he was a boy of eight. He lived with them for twentyfour years before returning to his mother in Virginia, year 1805. Albert Ross Williams, oldest son of A'A' and AIma, (my mother, Treva, told me that grandmother AIma, called Andrew, A.A.), married Grace Ann Cope. Grace was the daughter of Jonathan Calvin and Mary Ann two children, Treva Wilma and Maurine Lee (Bill). My grandfather, Ellis, wrote, "President Teddy Roosevelt forced us to take down our fences off the Government land. As I did not think I had enough pasture to run my cattle, I sold out and moved into the store business with my brother, Ross. I owned stores in Joes, Kirk and Limon." Aunt Bill told me that she, Treva, and their mother moved to Flagler to enroll Treva in school. Ellis ran the store at Joes. There were other relatives who also lived in Flagler; namely, Dr. H.L. Williams and family, parents, A.A. and Alma, Maude's mother, Rosella Nourse and sister-in-law Bertha Nourse. Bertha, widow of Frederick Ray Nourse, Jr., owned and operated the millinery shop located on the main street in Flagler. Another cousin and family, Clyde O. Williams lived in Arriba. According to Lhe Flagler Nea,s, "Thursday, October 5th (1916), was the 51st wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. A.A. Williams and was celebrated at the home of their son, Ellis Williams. The occasion was planned as a surprise for these good old people and there Colorado. AIso a stockholder in the new bank was no mistake about this feature. They were engaged in the mercantile business. Ross owned a store at Thurman; Ellis owned a the house filled with friends and relatives and the table spread for a dinner that only Mrs. Ellis can prepare, with a huge wedding cake banked and surrounded by carnations, as a of Kirk and in the Farmers State Bank in Flagler. He and his brother, Ellis were store at Joes and had joint ownership in another at Kirk, which Ross Iater sold to Ellis. Ross then moved to Denver where he died in 1954, age 88. Grace died in 1964, age 86. Flagler became home for the Ellis Williams family in 1914. On January 17, 1900 Ellis married Maude Nourse of Jericho, Missouri. Their marriage license states they were married in Kit Carson County. The newspa- invited to dinner and on their arrival found center piece." Maurine Lee married Jacob Lee Barnett and they have four children, namely Gary Lee, Thomas Ray, Mary Maurine and Viki Lynn. Bill and Lee have spent most of their married life in Sterling, Colorado. They are both retired school teachers and have always been active in their communitY. Treva married Joseph Henry Mclaughlin �and they have three children, namely Richard Ellis, Treva Jane and Margaret Maurine. The author, Margaret Maurine, married Martin Emery Clark and they have three children, namely Dale Martin, John Joseph and Theresa Jane. Theresa married Gary Dean Flynn and have one daughter, Allison Maurine. This author has lived in Montana most of her Iife but has visited Flagler several times. The visits have given me a warm close feeling. I think of my great-grandparents, grandparents, mother and aunt, going to church, to school, to the grocery store, shopping andjust generally living, working and playing. A memorable part of my heritage is from Flagler, Kit Carson County, Colorado. by Margaret M. Clark WILLIAMS, BOYD AND LYDIA F760 Very little was raised that year due to lack of moisture. The neighbors said that Swadley corn was the best for dry land farming so that was what they put in. That fall, when it was ready to be picked, the ears were next to the bottom of the stalk and half buried in the soil. Our close neighbor was a real early homesteader and was a great help to us, telling us what and when to plant. Jeff Huntzinger and family were such good people. They kept flour, sugar, coffee and such and we often had to rely on their help. Our school was only % mile away, which we called the Huntzinger School. Our mother was a good helper with everything. She planted the garden, sewed and patched and was midwife for the many babies born which was always a good crop. She gave us girls organ lessons while father gave the boys violin lessons and many a night was spent playing and singing. Later she organized a Sunday School class which was held at our school house. For enjoyment they took us to dances in a wagon. The seat was reserved for our parents with us kids in the back which was lined with straw and blankets. Later on and later Gordon Parrot, living in the Denver area before her death. Claude and his wife, Barbara, lived in the Arriba area where he worked for the Rock Island. They raised a daughter and two sons. by Ivy Stevens WILLIAMS, DR. HARRY AND JENNIE HAWN there was "Literary" which the older people enjoyed. Even though the school was only Vt mile from our home, a blizzard, came up and was so bad that we could not see Father who had started after us until we were right by him. He had a lighted lantern and was waving it around and calling our names but it was so bad, we neither saw nor heard him. Blizzards were our dread and also rattlesnakes, too, but Sod house built about 1908. Back Row: Boyd Williams (father), Lydia Williams (mother); Ivy Williams Stevens holding baby Cecil Stevens; EIsie Williams Hosmer; Viola Williams: Everett Williams; Earl Hosmer, husband of Elsie; John Williams. Husband of Viola; Charley Stevens, husband of Iqy. Front Row: Claude Williams, Clarence Hosmer, Ralph Hosmer, Alvin Stevens, and Gladys Williams Parrott. Taken about 191?. Our parents were L. Boyd Williams and Lydia Eliza (Largent) Williams. It was the year 1907 that our parents decided it was best to try their luck homesteading. At that time, many people were having the same notion so there were 2 or 3 other men from that locality who were interested in going out to Colorado to look the land over. They went by train, landing at Seibert where they got transportation to ride out and see the land. They ended up by each filing on some land, some at Seibert, but father wanted closer to Flagler and also close to school where we could finish our education. Finally finding what he thought our mother would like, too, he filed his claim which was 12 miles north and 2 miles east of Flagler in Kit Carson County, Colo. On returning home, all of us spent the winter at Oneida, Kansas, getting things ready to move. The next spring, March, 1908, we were all packed and ready to go. The men had chartered an immigrant car and had it full of farm implements, household goods, a dozen chickens, fruit, 3 or 4 cows, horses and hogs, so as to have things to start with. First they must find water, then a sod house had to be laid down and after that ground broken for farming. they never bothered us much. Once though, one of the boys was starting after the cows when a rattler was seen curled up in a snake weed. He called back and Father ran to the house to get his old shotgun and did away with the snake. The plains were beautiful hardly any - would fences. So many times people drive from corner to corner to shorten the way. At that time there were no mail routes. and we got our mail by the neighbors passing our place no electricity or phones. Later - also on those who were lucky enough to have a fence, put the telephone wires on it so they could enjoy visiting. Oh yes, and no cars either. One 4th of July we celebrated by taking our lunch and going to Flagler. Now Dr. Harry L. Williams that was a treat! We had hard times and good times, too. Most everyone was no better off than we were. When our parents could no longer tend the farm, they moved into Flagler and remained there the rest of their lives in more comfortable circumstances, never complaining. They took life as it came. There were seven of us children Clair. Elsie, Ivy, Everett, Viola, Gladys and-Claude. Clair, Everett and Gladys are deceased. Clair taught school a few years but returned to Sabetha, Ks., where he and his family owned and operated the Williams Cleaning and Pressing Establishment. He married and had two children. Elsie married Earl Hosmer and lived in Keenesburg where she spent her life. They had six children. She now lives in a nursing home. Ivy married Charley Stevens and had three sons and a daughter, living mostly in Limon and Denver, returning to Flagler about 16 years ago. Everett spent most of his life in the Flagler area. Villa married John Williams and had four children. They spent their life mostly on a farm or ranch. Gladys married Harry Blair Jennie D. Hawn Williams F76l �$50.00 payment on fixtures and stock, The Flagler Drug Company from a Dr. C. Schroyer. He moved his family into the building on Main Street and from here he conducted his medical practice and the drugstore. Art Clark served as driver for Dr. Williams both in the horse and buggy days and later when he acquired a car. Even after the purchase of the car Dr. continued to use the horse and buggy when roads were unsui- table for travel by car. He had a great fondness for horses. When the family home was built in 1915 a barn was built on the north side of the garage; it still stands today. Marion told of accompanying his father to Denver for medical supplies. His duty was to get out and open and close the gates as they crossed private property. Art Clark had many experiences with Dr. Williams which he enjoyed relating. They grew to know each other well for they spent much time together on calls that took them miles into the countryside in all kinds of weather. There were times they spent from one to Dr. Harry L. Williams Dr. Harry Lawrence Williams was born November 10, 1870 at Bushnell, Ilinois to Frances Marion and Sarah Elizabeth Foster Williams. There were four brothers and five sisters. Chalmer, the last survivor of the family, celebrated his 100th birthday on January 5, 1986 at his home in Beverly Hills, California; he died August 10, 1986. Dr. Williams received his Teacher's Certificate from Fulton County, Illinois February 13, 1893. He taught school one year in a rural area near Bushnell, illinois. Jennie D. Hawn, born December 12,L870, received her Teacher's Certificate from Fulton County, Illinois July 1, 1893. They were married at the home of her parents, Phillip and Sarah Hawn, in Remington, Indiana May 6, 1896. To this union was born four sons. The first son died at birth. Marion Phillip was born March 9, 1898, Arthur Justin born July 7, 1901 and Lowell Lawrence born July 28, 1905. After his marriage to Jennie Hawn, Dr. Williams engaged in farming on his father's farm for two years but was forced to quit because of ill health. In the late 1800's he took his wife and young son, Marion, and moved to Denver. In 1902 he entered what then was known as the Denver and Gross College of Medicine at Denver University; he graduated in 1906. He was a member of the Delta Chapter of Omega Upsilon Phi F raternity. During his years in medical school he was fondly known as "Old Abe" because of his similarity to Lincoln in appearance and character, so his obituary reads. In November of 1906 he was returning to Illinois with his family when the train became snowbound in Flagler. He purchased, with a three nights at an isolated home because the patient was too sick to leave or the weather locked them in. Dr. Williams died in Presbyterian hospital in Denver February 22,\933. Jennie left Flagler soon after to be with her son, Dr. A. Justin Williams, in San Francisco. She died at his home November 7. 1933. The youngest son, Lowell, died at the family home in Flagler on November 28,192L at the age of 16. Arthur Justin Williams graduated from Denver University with an AB degree in 1923. His fraternity was Sigma Phi Epsilon. He taught school for one year in Bethune. He graduated from Colorado University in 1928 with a degree in medicine. He married Carolyn Helbig of Denver June 26, 1928. He then continued his education by specializing in radiology. Shortly after Pearl Harbor, Dr. Williams went on active duty, returning from Europe after 3-Yz years of service with the rank of colonel. He and Carolyn had two children; Dr. Justin Lowell Williams, a radiologist living in Fresno, California and Lynn Williams Pfleuger of Ross, California. Marion Phillip Wil- liams graduated from Denver University School of Pharmacy; his fraternity was Sigma Phi Epsilon. He served in the army in the first World War. Doris Lane came to Flagler after graduating from Normal School in Michigan. And, after teaching second and third grades in 1920, she and Marion were married August 7 , I92l at the home of her parents in Gentry, Mo. Their children are, Lawrence Lowell, "Larry", Williams of Flagler, Florence Louise Lloyd of Albuquerque, Betsy Riegel of Lakeland, Florida and adopted daughter Cindy Cochran of Lakeland, Florida. by Vivienne Williams WILLIAMS, JOE AND GOLDIE r.762 Joe and Goldie Williams moved to the Millisack Place in the Spring of 1941. The Dr. Harry L. Williams (Three sons in car & Jennie to right of picture) place was badly run down and so Joe got busy and did a bunch of remodeling to make it into a home they all loved. He rented some farm ground and pasture, and ran some 200 head of cattle every summer for many years. �Doug and Mary Lou went to Smoky Hill School in 1941, where Doug graduated as 26 years, as well as with church activities and the RSVP since 1973. Near neighbors while valedictorian, and then on to Burlington High School. Classmates there were Verna Butterfield, Joe Daniel, Mary Hahn, Dale and Dixie Sparks, Lawrence Schaal, Kenneth Butterfield, and Evelyn Drager. JoNell started to school at Smoky Hill. Her teacher was Leatha Dickinson and her husband was the Principal and High School on the farm were the Kellers, Duncans, Sittsworths, Morts and Blanckens. Jake Browers now own the place. On Feb. 15, 1946, Agnes and Virgil Short were married at home with the Rev. Millie Gibbs officiating. Agnes and Roberta both taught school on war permits with Agnes finishing the Victory Heights term and teacher. Bob Williams worked on a cattle ranch for C.A. Buetel, who lived on a ranch about 2 miles north of Smoky Hill. Times were hard and most farmers milked a bunch of cows and raised chickens. They ordered 500 baby chicks every Spring. The cream and eggs were hauled to town in the back seat of their car and sold to buy groceries. Joe farmed with a team of horses until early 1950 and then bought a used John Deere tractor, which he hand painted. Henry Drager was a neighbor and was considered a good John Deere mechanic. During the war years there was very little to do for entertainment. There was a family named King who lived in Cheyenne County and they were all musicians. They would gladly come to the Williams home to play for dancing. They would move all of the furniture into other rooms and spend the evening dancing. Lots of people came from Burlington and Stratton. Lester Pierson was an excellent square dance caller. Those who didn't dance would play cards. Most of the women belonged to a community club called the Willing Workers. They would meet at different homes and make something for the hostess. One year the made mattresses in the Smoky Hill basement. Another year they met with Flora Drager and made cheese. Saturday was always shopping day for almost everybody. This was a chance to visit with neighbors and the kids often got to go to the matinee which cost just 50. Years later Joe bought the Millisack house and moved it to town. He remodeled it and made a lovely home. by Bernice Eberhart WILLIAMS, VIOLA AND JOHN F763 Viola A. Williams came with her parents, Lincoln Boyd Williams and Lydia E. Williams from northeast Kansas in 1908. Her father had filed on 160 acres. 2 miles east and 12 north of Flagler in 1907. He returned to Kansas and in 1908 he and his son, Claire, came in a box car with their belongings while Mrs. Williams and the family, Elsie, Ivy, Evert, Viola, Gladys and Claude came by train. Jim Quinn met them and drove them to the Mose Wright house, one mile east and 10 miles north of town where the family lived until a water well was drilled and a shack the family could live in was built. A sod house, L4 x 28' was built with their father laying every sod with help from the family and neighbors. Elsie went to Denver and Claire returned to Kansas while the rest of the children Roberta, one year at Shiloh. Maxine and Albert Koleber were married Nov. 20, 1947 in Denver by Rev. Robert Allingha-. The sons-in-law were all in World .., ...,':.,,. , t ,. .t - i, .' rlir' :: r ': War II. 1]' :i'. .1 The Williams' 50th wedding anniversary in 1967. L. to R.: Agnes Short, Virgil and Roberta Martin, Viola and John Williams and Maxine and Al Koleber. attended the Huntzinger School. John Williams was born in Cameron, Missouri. He came to Colorado with his parents, Daniel and Arcenia Williams, Lou, Nett, Ione and Aileen, during the 1913 blizzard and were stranded in Seibert awhile before going to the place they had purchased which the Leroy Jones now own. Mrs. Williams operated the Blake Restaurant, then the Hotel where the Legion Building is now and Mr. Williams ran a meat market in Seibert. Later Mr. and Mrs. Williams moved to Denver where they lived their final years. All are now deceased with the exception ofhis sister, Net Gelick, who lives in Sterling. In 1916, John filed a claim on a'go-back' piece of land, 3 miles east and 4 north which the Gene Nichols'now own. John and Viola were married on Feb. 15, 1917, by Judge C.A. Yersin in Burlington, and lived on his father's place, until Mr. Fisher and he could get the one-room house on the land repaired and moved there that summer. John helped A.C. Fisher with his farm work as well as with his own. This home is where the family was born. Near neighbors were the Fishers, Searcys, Chases and Brandenburgs. With school so far away and John not well, the farm was sold to Mrs. A.C. (Stella) Fisher and the Williams moved to town in 1926 where John was employed by the Farmers Union and Viola worked in the creamery. In 1936, the Williams moved 17 miles northwest ofFlagler, and lived there until the end of 1942. Their daughters stayed in town to finish high school. Roberta and Virgil Martin were married at home on Feb. 15, 1942, Rev. Millie Gibbs officiating. After they left on their honeymoon, the neighbors came and helped celebrate the Williams' 25th wedding anniversary. They were the Michals, Elricks, Larues, Millers and Holdens. The Williams purchased the Dr. O.S. Neff place and moved there on Jan. 1, 1943. John was not in the service due to an injury when young. He was a 50-year member of the Flagler IOOF Lodge 135. Viola has been a member of the Crystal Rebekah Lodge 130 since 1.930, and a member of the Flagler Congregational Church where the daughters were also members. She was also a member of the Welcome Club, Home Demonstration Club, the Gingham Girls, a charter member Connie Janel came to make her home with Agnes and Virgil Short on Dec.24,1955 when 6 days old. On July L2,L9il,Patrolman Short of Castle Rock was shot by Dean Spooner of Des Moines, Iowa, near Kremmling. Agnes passed away in 1973. Connie Short and Clint Nix were married in 1973 in the LaForet Chapel in the Black Forest. They have a daughter, Colleen Gayle, 3 years old and live in Montana. Roberta and Virgil Martin lived in Salida. Their son, Robert, his wife, Marcia, Rob, Mike and Kenny live in Pueblo. Their daughter, Cheryl, passed away in 1970 and Virgil Martin in 1982. Maxine and Al Koleber lived in Pasco. Wash., where their sons, Gary and Ron, also live. Their daughter, Joyce, and husband, Steve La voie and daughter, Donna, live in Okinawa. Al passed away in 1983. John Williams died in 1970 and an infant son, Clarence in 1917. Maxine lives in Prosser, Wash., Roberta in Salida, Colo. Viola's sisters, Ivy Stevens in Flagler, Elsie Hosmer in Brighton and brother, Claude Williams in Arriba, Coio. by Viola Williams WILSON FAMILY F764 My parents, Frank Herbert (Bert) and Maggie Wilson, moved from Lexington, Nebraska, in March 1921. They had purchased one quarter of land located 7 miles south and 1/z mile east of Stratton in the Bethel Community. The family made the trip in an Overland car. Livestock and family possessions came via train. At that time there were six children: Vivian, Elvin, Ruth, Clair, Virginia and Dorothy, who was three months old. Later another son, George, was born to them. There was a tiny two room frame house on the land when the family arrived. I was too young to recall what other buildings, if any, there were. My father said he was a "jack of all trades and master of none." Soon after becoming settled and planting the crops, he started making adobe blocks in preparation for building a house. The outside walls for a five room house were completed in 1922. When the family moved into the house the interior was not completed. The original house was used for a granary. In the following years more adobe blocks were made and a garage and chicken house was built. We children walked two miles to the West Bethel school. During some rainy, muddy weather Elvin wore high rubber boots to �school and a classmate, Floyd Whitmore' nicknamed him "Boots" a name he kept throughout his life. As well as farming for a living, Dad had a flair for carpentry and built several homes in the county, including the former Henry Wilson and Harve Hughes residences in the Bethel Community, the Frank Lesher house in the First Central area and the E'R. Deakin home near Vona. My father died October 17, 1929, and Mother was left with the family of seven children to carry on. Much of the farming responsibility fell to Boots who continued living at home until 1936. The family kept the land until about 1947 when it was sold to Kenneth Scheierman and Mother moved into Stratton, Colo., where she lived until she could no longer care for herself' She then went to the nursing home in Burlington where she died April 14, 1966. of '35. The dust lodged in the animals' coats and when the rains finally came the seeds sprouted on the cows'backs. Also large spots of the cows' hair fell out. Pleasant memories are: Mother picking and canning wonderberries, making preserves from ground cherries and yellow pear tomatoes, making braided and hooked rugs, piecing and quilting quilts, tatting and crocheting, making many of our clothes. Dad putting new soles on our shoes, braiding new halter ropes for the horses, using the forge for sharpening tools, seeing the portulaca (rose moss) blooming on the cellar roof, the hollyhocks along the garden fence, hearing the coyote howl at night, hearing the singing mockingbird perched high on the windmill, people searching for arrow heads on Rock Hill north of our house after the dust storms in 1935. As a family we often played dominoes and Elvin lived in the Stratton area until his a card game came Flinch. Our SundaY death January 19, 1978. Vivian died January 5. 1933. Ruth Nowak and family moved to papers we received at Sunday School. Some- Idaho Springs, Colo., in 1,937 and she still resides there. After serving in the military in World War I[, George and Clair and families lived for a time in Nebraska and later moved to Missouri. After World War II, Dorothy McFarland, her husband and son moved to Everett, Washington and then to Crescent City, California, where she died in August 1959 Her child, Harold, also is dead. Harold's afternoons were usually spent reading the times as a special treat we would pop homegrown corn and make taffy. by Virginia Wilson Foster Elvin and Lois Wilson. WILSON - BOWKER FAMILY widow and daughter reside in Tacoma, Washington. I moved from Stratton in 1950 and have lived in Denver since 1952. At the present time my family is in Denver or F766 nearby. As a child I was fascinated by the butchering process. We looked forward to the time when the weather would be cool enough so that the meat would keep. Through the summer months we would have fried chicken. We had pork more than beef. At the butchering time, a fire would be built under a 50 gallon gas barrel to heat the water which was used for scalding the animal so that the hairs could be scraped. The fat would be rendered into lard which was stored in stoneware jars in the cellar. The "cracklins" would be used for making laundry soap. Hams, shoulders, etc. would be salted down and put into a 15 gallon stoneware jar and kept in a cold place. Some parts would be trimmed and used for Denise, Barbara, Myrna, Lois and Elvin Wilson. "Boots", a name that remained with him all his life. His father died at an early age and Elvin being the oldest son had to go to work to help his mother take care of his four sisters and sausage - oh, how good that tast€d with pancakes on a cold morning! Also there was some meat that was made into mincement and canned to be used later in Pies. We had a cellar where canned foods, potatoes, pumpkins, squash, etc' were kept in the winter so they wouldn't freeze. In the summer it was cool, and butter, cream and milk had to be kept there. Part of our land was pasture but as the cattle herd increased, the open range was used for grazing. We younger children were responsible for watching the cattle' The range was 1/z mile over the hill to the south and sometimes we could see the animals by climbing to the top of the windmill. Other times it was necessary to walk or ride a pony to check on them. This chore seemed to us to require a tremendous amount of our time. The very dry summer of 1934 brought a complete crop failure. We cut and stacked the green Russian thistles for the cows. Even though they were green, they were "stickery" and I wonder how the cows managed to eat them. This was followed by the dust storms two brothers. Lois lsabelle Bowker was the oldest of eight children born to William H. and Mabel O. (Judson) Bowker. She was born July 22,L914 in La Vern, Oklahoma. As a young girl, she recalled many times riding their horses in the sand hills of Oklahoma. When she was ten years old they Maggie and Bert Wilson, Elvin's parents. At the age of thirteen years, Elvin Frederick Wilson came with his family to Colorado where they homesteaded. Their home was located seven miles south and two east of Stratton, Colorado. Elvin was born November 6, 1908 at Lexington, Nebraska. He came to Colorado in 1921. Here he finished his education, through the eighth grade in the Bethel Schools. Elvin wore a great big pair of overshoes to school and his schoolmates called him moved to St. John, Kansas. There she completed her education. From there, the family moved to McCook, Nebraska. They came to Colorado in 1934. They lived on a place two miles north of the Wilson place. As young people, Elvin and Lois met at Sunday School. They started dating and they recalled many times the times all the young couples got together at church on Sunday evening for parties. They were married on April 24, 1936 by Reverend Ray Hooper. They moved to the Walter Hooper place where they lived for three years. �To this union three daughters were born. Florence Denise and Barbara Jean were born in the grandmother's home. Myrna was born five years later in the Maternity Home in Stratton run by Rena Borders. Lois and Elvin moved to the J.H. Hoot place where they lived and farmed for thirteen years and then to the Rex Zurcher place formerly the old Truman Hazen place. He farmed many years with horses and then he purchased one new Oliver tractor that he farmed with until his death. Elvin enjoyed his life as a farmer and rancher. He loved the land. He enjoyed the companionship of one son-in-law for twentythree years. They spent a lot of time helping each other with their farming and also helping the neighbors thrash their crops. The special memories of childhood shared by their daughters was that they always had a real Christmas tree and Dad always bought them a box ofcrayolas and oranges and candy for their stockings. Lois had a dream of someday taking up nursing. She completed a correspondence course in nursing. They saw to it that their daughters had an education. All three girls graduated from Stratton High School. After her daughters were grown she took up cake decorating as a hobby, which grew into a full-time business. She spent many hours baking and decorating over one hundred wedding cakes plus birthday cakes for the young and old alike. Elvin and Lois together enjoyed belonging to a card club. He also loved to spend time playing cards with his family. One thing he always did through the years was to take his girls to the Kit Carson County Fair. Our one great thrill was riding the merry-go-round. Lois also spent many hours making and quilting quilts for her loved ones and friends. Elvin lived to see his youngest daughter Myrna marry in 1977. She married Ronald Bill who works for the Denver Broncos and the family all became interested in football. We were all excited the Christmas of 1978 when the Broncos won the right to play in the Super Bowl. They enjoyed the birth of a granddaughter, Debbie and a grandson Jerry and three adopted grandchildren, Raymond, Garrett, and Donna McConnell. Elvin loved to garden and always raised a big garden and Lois spent many hours canning food for her family. She also spent time teaching her daughters how to cook and sew. Lois was baptized into the Evangelican United Brethren Church in 1955. which merged into the United Methodist Church. She served seven years as President of the Methodist Women. They retired from farming and moved to town in November, 1977. Elvin got to enjoy problems. She underwent open heart surgery in 1976. After Elvin's death she lived alone and kept herself busy with her hobbies. Through the years she suffered several more attacks. In 1983 it became necessary for her to enter Grace Manor Nursing Care Center in Burlington. Lois passed on in November 1983. Elvin and Lois are buried in the family plot in Fairview Cemetery, Burlington, Colorado. by Florence McConnell WILSON, BESSIE F766 Mrs. Bessie (Peggy) M. Wilson, daughter of Emma See Lamon and Uriah M. Lamon, was born Sept. 10, 1884, in Lincoln, Ill. On Feb. 6, 1907, she married Arthur Wilson. They immediately moved to Burlington, where her husband was the editor of the Kit Carson County Record. She taught school briefly, before sharing the operation of the Racket Store here. Mrs. Wilson lived in Burlington all her married life, except for eight years, which she spent in Denver when her husband was in business there. When they returned in 1918, they established the Burlington Call and she helped operate the business until Mar. 1, 1944, when the local papers were consolidated. She also operated a gift and clothing shop at the corner of 14th and Lowell for many years. For many years she was the county vice chairman of the Republican Party and thru her political and social activities made a large circle of friends extending from her home town of Abilene, Kansas, to the capitol of Colo. at Denver. She took an active part in all elections and one ofher greatestjoys was to see a hometown acquaintance, Dwight D. Eisenhower of Abilene, become the president of the United States. The Burlington Library was founded by Mrs. Wilson in 1921 and she served as president of the board until her retirement in 1966. During this time a new library building was erected to house the collection of books and pieces of art and a room for a museum of pioneer relics. In 1928, she with two other women founded the Burlington Garden Club, which was responsible for many plantings, including the hospital grounds, as well as the roadside pines and evergreens on Highway #24. Organiza- Liskey Brothers near Lower Klamath Lake. Most of the land they leased from the Federal Government, and the Government decided to make some of the land available for homes- teaders for war veterans. Leo was not a veteran, so he lost hisjob. Since Leo's parents lived on a farm about 12 miles south of Burlington, and his grandparents, a sister and an uncle also lived some 9 miles south of Burlington, they packed up what few things they had and headed for Burlington. Times were hard and they would at least have a place to stay until spring work began. They certainly did not intend to make this their home for the rest of their lives. The drought and the dirt storms had played havoc with the whole country, and with all of the dust piles, it looked like a "jumping off place." Leo thought he could find work in Colorado Springs or Denver, but C.A. Buettel owned a ranch 3 miles north of the Smoky Hill School and he offered Leo a job at $50. per month, also a small house in which they lived. Some of the out-buildings were partly buried with the blow dirt, up to the eaves and it wasn't a very pretty sight. Bessie was born in Oklahoma and Leo in north central Kansas, where there were lots of trees. It took some getting used to when there was not a tree or even any growing things in sight. Leo worked for Mr. Buettel until the fall of 1940 when he had a chance to rent a farm owned by John Reuter, who was moving to Burlington. This farm was located 3 miles west, l south and % mile west of Smoky Hill School. In 1947 they bought that farm. The rains had come and crops and prices were good, making the economy boom. The Windscheffels rented some more ground, settled in for good and were raising their family. They had three children, Phyllis, Eldon and Gary. Leo served on the school board at Smoky Hill and then continued on the board after the school was consolidated with Burlington. In 1974 the family moved into Burlington because of health problems, and then in 1981 the farm was sold to Lewis Nider. Gary tried to keep the farm going for a while, but decided to seek employment in Burlington. Leo passed away in March 1985. What they thought in 1938 would be a temporary move, turned out to be not so temporary after all. Bessie, Phyllis and Gary are still making their home in Burlington in 1987. by Bernice Eberhart tion of the Burl cemetery district, its financial support and the landscaping of the plot was due in a large part to her endless hours of determined effort. Mrs. Bessie Wilson passed away on June 15, 1971, at the age of 87 years. by Janice Salmans his retirement only a short time when he was stricken with a heart attack and died in January of 1979. Elvin missed seeing his second daughter, Barbara, many. She and Glenn Edmunds were married May 5, 1979. Lois got to bake them a beautiful cake. She also baked her daughter Myrna's wedding cake and a beautiful cake for her oldest daughter Denise and Jim's Twenty-fifth Wedding Anniversary. Lois was stricken with health problems in 1975, learning she had diabeties and heart near the Oregon line. Leo was working for the WINDSCHEFFEL, LEO AND BESSIE F767 Leo and Bessie Windscheffel moved to the Smoky Hill Community in March of 1938, after being manied in Merrill, Oregon in January. They were living in Tulelake, Calif, WINFREY HARDWICK FAMILY F768 John Robinson Winfrey, son of Henry Winfrey and Nancy Edwards Ballenger, was born in Boone county, Missouri May 30, 1863. He was named after the Baptist preacher, John M. Robinson, who had married his parents in 1860. In 1880 when John was 17 years old, he moved with his parents to Carroll county, Missouri, near Wakenda. On Wakenda Creek the Hardwick family had built the "Hardwick Mill" about 1821. Anetta "Nettie", daughter of James E. and Teresa A. "Tracy" (Gosnell) Hardwick, was married to John Robinson Winfrey at the �home of her parents on February 2, 1885' John & Nettie farmed in Carroll county' Mo. for several years. During this time six children were born to them: James "Jimmie" Warren born Nov. 21, 1885; Virgie Lee was born Sept. 4, 1888 but died the following year on Oct. 11, 1885; Oscar Robinson born May 31, 1891; Edward Newton born Mar. 4, 1893; Grace Florence born Apr. 27, 1895; and Nora Hasseltine born Aug. 13, 1897. It was difficult to make a living on the small upland farms and the bottomlands were infested with mosquitos and fever. About 1898 they took their children, moved to Cedar County, Mo., but found the situation no better there' One more child, Cecil Otto, was born Dec. 24, 1899, while they were there. Grain and cattle prices were being pushed up because of the United States involvement in the Spanish American War, so in 1900 they moved back to Carroll County, Mo. Cecil Otto passed away with an attack of scarletina on Jan. 9, 1902. On Oct. 13, 1902 their eighth child, Floyd, was born but died with complications following whooping cough on Dec. 17, of that same year. On Nov. 26,L902, they bought 40 acres of land for $1,000 and on this farm their ninth child, Hurley Estel, was born Apr. 28, 1904. Their crops and prices had been better since moving back to Carroll County, but John was beginning to feel restless again and wanted something better. They sold their farm on Feb. 11, 1905, for $1,500, had a farm sale and loaded their household furniture on an emigrant car or box car and headed west. John, at 42 years of age, was full of enthusiasm as having paid all his debts he still had what to him was a large amount of money, $528 cash, to start the journey to a new home. On March 3, 1905 they unloaded in Atwood, Ks. Their tenth and last child. Mildred Ruth, was born on a farm about 6 miles west of Atwood on Nov. 25, 1906. During the summer of 1906 John went west to St. Francis, Ks., and followed the South fork westward into Colorado. After looking around the area a few days, John chose a plot just 3 miles south of the Cook ranch which was located about 4 miles up the river west of Hale. John's homestead application was made on June 18, 1906, 3394 and the land description was Lots 1 & 2 and N t/z of the SE % of Sec. 33 inT 5 1/z S., R 43 W. Except for a few years in Arkansas, they spent the rest of their lives in the Burlington, Kit Carson County, area of Colorado. When the family got notice that their application was approved, John, Nettie, and 6 children ranging in age from 16 years to 3 months, loaded up their belongings into a caravan of 3 vehicles and started their 3-day trek to Colorado. John and his son, Ed, led the way in a wagon with sideboards loaded with farm tools and machinery, next came Oscar and Nora in a hayrack loaded with furniture, straw ticks, feather beds, etc', and then Nettie with Grace, Hurley and baby Mildred brought up the rear in a one-horse top buggy. Their oldest child, Jimmie, had stayed in Atwood where he was working. The first night out the spent with an old bachelor where they made their first acquaintance with the prairie dweller's heating fuel, the lowly cow chip! They became well acquainted with it during the next several vears, The second day they got to within a few miles of their destination when it began to snow. Darkness set in quickly so they drove into a farmyard. The good people who lived there, the Haywards, took them in for the night, even though their house was already overcrowded. The next morning they traveled on to what was to be their home. It was a dugout 36 x 16 ft. A "dugout" was made by digging an excavation into the side of a hill so the back and side walls would all be formed by earth and only the roof and front needed to be built with lumber and tar paper. Their dirt floor usually sloped gently toward the front so any water leakage would flow out the only door. John's "dugout" was only one room but it did boast a crude wooden floor and a glass window in the front. Before the family moved in, John had made arrangements for a well to be dug by a horse-powered drill which was in use at that time. It was 120 feet to water at his homestead and they pumped water by hand for several years until they could get a windmill. Shortly after they settled into their new home, John got a job at the Cook ranch and soon was making $25 a month as foreman. The older children started to school, walking 3 miles north to the old sod school house known as the Cook School. Families had many difficulties to overcome such as loneliness, as neighbors were usually 4 or 5 miles away, frustrations of trying to raise feed for the stock, and there was always the dread of prairie fires. The dry weather and open range law made it extremely difficult to farm, but the Homestead Act required that a certain amount of land be cultivated. Cow chips from the prairie were gathered to use as fuel for cooking, as well as heating, until they began to raise enough corn so they could burn the corn cobs. The cobs made good clean fuel but burned very rapidly. Even though coal could be bought in Burlington, it was too costly for most farmers. When John filed his claim, his land was in Yuma County but on June 9, 1910, the commissioners of Kit Carson and Yuma Counties decided that the land in Township 5 % South should be in Kit Carson County, so this placed all his land in Kit Carson County. In the fall of 1914, John decided to build a new house of adobe bricks. They made wooden forms to mold the mixture of mud and straw into 12x12x16 inch blocks. When thoroughly dried, they could be used like concrete blocks in building a house. The house could then be plastered on the inside and was a big improvement over the dugout. John's house was about 24 x 24 f.eet square and had a shingle roof. Several years later, John plastered the outside with concrete to stop the wind and water erosion, and it stood until about 1978 when it started crumbling into the cellar and was pushed down. Necessity is the mother of invention and certainly that is true when you live on a farm which is 20 miles from town and your only transportation is a team and wagon. John could do about anything that needed to be done and do it well. He always had a small blacksmith shop which boasted an anvil, a shoe horses, make hinges and fasteners for barn doors and gates, and do almost anything with malleable steel. He could also build a house or other building from foundation to roof and chimney and out of whatever material, sod, frame, adobe, concrete block or brick. Since there was no veterinary within miles, John also did all doctoring of his Iivestock. About 1920, John bought his first Ford touring car. It was one of the few in the neighborhood with an electric starter and demountable rims which made it practical to carry a spare tire. Some of John's other endeavors were taking orders for "Tailor Made" suits; carrying the mail from the Bonny Post Office to meet the carrier from Burlington. In the early 1920s he bought a little grocery store from Warner Johnson; but after a year or two, sold it back to Mr. Johnson. He took a franchise to sell Lange products. These were patent medicines like Raleigh products. He bought a Model T Ford roadster, built a cabinet on the back for his products, and drove around the area selling the Lange line to farmers. The Winfreys came from a long line of Baptists and on February 18, 1916, with the help of Rev. E.M. Ayers, a Baptist preacher from Alma, Nebr., organized the Liberty Baptist Church. Rev. Ayers then held meetings in various homes and school houses. Eventually the church started holding Sunday School and sometimes Church at the Happy Hollow School, which served as their meeting place until the First Baptist Church was organized in Burlington in 1952. John and Nettie's son, Jimmie, was a predominate influence in keeping this church active so long. Everything went along well for John and his family for several years, and he was 67 years old when he raised a good corn crop in 1930. Since the price for corn was low he decided to feed it to his hogs and see if he couldn't do better by the time they were fattened in the spring. He and Nettie were both in good health but John needed a new set of teeth and planned to use the money from the hogs for that purpose. The hogs had started catching chickens, so he built a small pen with corncribbing on the south side of his blacksmith shop to keep them in until they were ready for market. He had,24 head of hogs so he thought he could not only get his new teeth but pay all his debts and have a little money left. When they were ready to sell he made arrangements with Floyd Crites, a neighbor who owned a truck, to haul them to Burlington on Saturday, March 21, 1931. John was up early but waited most of the day before Floyd sent word he had truck trouble and could not make it that day and promised to be there early the next Saturday. The next Thursday, March 26, it started to snow. All day and night and the next day and night it snowed fiercely, the wind velocity was as high as 70 miles per hour. It was one of the worst blizzards the country had ever experienced and it took more than a week to get the highway cleared to Denver. Corncribbing was used a lot for snow fences because it would cause the snow to drift on forge, a few blacksmith hammers, and a post drill for drilling holes in steel straps and bars. the side away from the wind. This is what happened to John's hog pen. The snow replace broken ones, sharpen plow shares and completely. Since it was just a temporary pen, He could improvise parts many times to drifted deep inside the pen covering the hogs tol �there was no shed for them to get away from it and despite all the shovelling he could do, belongings, loaded the rest into a box car, and the family, Jimmie included, headed west for Kansas. They arrived at Atwood, Kansas on March 3, 1905 and moved to a farm John had rented. John soon homesteaded about 70 miles west of Atwood in Colorado. Early in 1907 Jimmie homesteaded 142 acres which bordered his fathers farm of the west. His homestead entry No. 4868 and the legal description was Lots 3 and 4 and N % of SW 7+ Sec. 33 Township 5 W S. R 43 W. This land was in Yuma County at the time, but a later survey in 1910 moved the county they got wet and cold. Before the roads cleared enough to get a truck to Burlington the hogs were noticeable ill. John thought they had cholera but the Vet pronounced it "flu" caused by the exposure. Instead of improving they just kept losing weight and looking worse until finally they all died but one and it never did seem to fully recover. After working with the sick hogs for several weeks he was not able to save any ofthem and the 24 fat hogs that were supposed to get John t completely out of debt and buy his new teeth and pay the taxes, had to be piled up in the corral and burned. This was quite a blow to John and he began to talk oftrading his place for a farm in Arkansas so they could move to a place where it didn't get so cold. In the fall line to the north border of his homestead. thus placing his land in Kit Carson County. He built a small 3 room sod house on his claim less that 300 yards from his parents dugout so he could use his fathers'well and barn. The following yetr, Jimmie got a job at the Cook Ranch 3 miles north of his claim. That ranch is now covered by the Bonny Reservoir. It was there that he met Jessie Mae Biggs, a of 1933, just after the drought of the 1930s had started, John managed to trade his homestead for a small farm near Bentonville, Arkansas. They moved to the Ozarks but found the farm there pretty well run down, they were a long way from all the family, and at 70 years of age, John knew he was just not able to start over again. In 1937 when John was 73 years old he and Nettie bought a small house in Burlington and probably spent the most pleasant and carefree years of their lives in this home. Nettie had always enjoyed good health but after a short illness she passed away Jan. 6, 1953, at the age of86 yrs., 11 mo., and 6 days just 27 days short of their 68th wedding anniversary. John remained very active and mentally alert. He walked downtown about every day young lady who was helping Mrs. Myrtle Buraker with the cooking for the ranch hands. Jimmie said he thought she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen and the one he would like to marry. She must have shared his feelings as on Oct. 31, 1908 they drove to Burlington with a team and buggy and were married by the Rev. C.A. Yersin. Jessie Mae was born in a sod house on the Cook Ranch 3 miles west of Hale. Colorado James W. Winfrey and Jessie Mae (Biggs) Winfrey. Taken on their wedding day, Oct. 31, 1908. on June 16, 1890, the first child of Jessie Grant Biggs and Lillian E. (Taylor) Biggs. Both of her grandfathers were veterans of the Union Army in the Civil War. Shortly after they were married they went to Atwood and got ajob shucking corn. They both worked and by Christmas had accumulated enough money to start farming their land, so they returned to their homestead. They lived in the sod house for 7 years and the first of their 9 children were born there. In February 1909 the "Homestead Act" was liberalized to allow people in this area to and as he walked he was nearly always whistling one of his beloved old religious hymns. Many of his friends affectionately called him "Whistling Winfrey". On Nov. 29, 1956, a neighbor stopped by to see if John wanted to ride to town with him. As John bent over to pull on one of his overshoes, he gasped, slid gently offthe chair, and was gone at the age of 93 yrs. 5 mo. and 27 d,ays. Both John and Nettie were buried in Fairview Cemetery, Burlington, Colo. Two of John and Nettie's children are still Mr. and Mrs. James Winfrey and children, (left to right) Virgil, Everett, Iva, Clifton, Mabel and Lola. r !," , living, Nora Crews of Wray, Colo., and Mildred Smith of Lakewood, Colo. Information for this article was extracted ftom "The Winfrey Family", a book written by James Clifton Winfrey, who was a grandson of John & Nettie. by Alice M. Jacober WINFREY, JIMMIE AND JESSIE F769 James Warren Winfrey "Jimmie", the oldest child of John Robinson and Anetta "Nettie" Winfrey was born in a log cabin 6 miles east of Carrollton, Missouri, on Nov. 21, 1885. He received most of his grammer school education in Carroll County and attended one semegter at William Jewell College at Liberty, Missouri in 1904. He accepted the Lord as his Savior in 1902 during a revival meeting at the Wakenda, Missouri Baptist Church. In 1905 his father sold their farm, had a sale to dispose of the livestock and some personal Children of Jimmie and Jessie Winfrey taken March 30, 1972, the day of Mom's funeral. Left to right Ray, Everett, Mabel, Irvin, Iva, Floyd, Lola, Jim and Virgil. �homestead 320 acres instead of the original 160 A. Jimmie was fortunatc that there was 160 acres bordering him on the west which new church building was built at 250 Cherry St. As the membership grew, they were able to build on to the building and it is now one Hale School House Jessie accepted the Lord as her Saviour. In 1915 Jimmie built a new 5 room frame house 26 ft. by 28 ft. with a cellar underneath just Yz mile west of the soddy, had a well dug and put up a new windmill and on Nov. 21, 1915, which was Jimmies'30th birthday, they moved into the new house. The other 6 children were born there. Jimmie and his parents had always been church going people while in Missouri so they missed this association very much for there wasn't a church within 10 miles of them in any direction, so in 1916 they managed to get a young Baptist preacher, Rev. E.M. Ayers from Alna, Nebraska to come to the Hale school house for a series of meetings. Meetings were held for 12 nights and 18 people just 2 months later on March 26, Jessie had been abandoned so he filed on it immediately. Legal Description was SE % Sec. 32 T5 Vz S R43 W. In 1912 during a revival meeting at the accepted Christ. They decided to try to organize a Baptist Church so they called a meeting to be held at the home of John of the many active churches in Burlington. Jimmie sold the farm in 1954 and bought a home at 293 Cherry St., in Burlington. He passed away Jan. 17, 1972 at the age of86 and passed away at age 81 leaving to mourn their 9 children: Clifton "Jim" and wife Mildred (Bain), Kansas City, MO.; Rev. Everett L. and wife Hallie (Miser), Gadson, AL.; Iva and husband Leonard Barnhart of Edgewater, CO.; Virgil and wife Iris (Degler) of Yates Center, KS.; Mabel and husband Wade Davis of Burlington, CO.; Lola and husband Reuben Rhoades of Burlington, CO.; Irvin and wife Maxine (Lohr) of DesMoines, IA.; Ray andwife Beth (Miller) DesMoines,IA.; Floyd and wife Ellen (Magee) Independence, MO.; along with 24 grandchildren and 32 great the Liberty Baptist Church. Rev. Ayers stayed on for a year during which time take care of her ailing parents. Their first child (Emma Matilda) was born on 20 June 1864 in Canal Dover, Ohio. While in Worms, Germany three more children were born. Andrew Albert was born 31 Jimmie and Jesse are buried in Fairview Cemetery in Burlington, CO. This was written by their son Clifton October 1867, Katherine Elizabeth was born 6 May 1869, and Ludwig Edward was born 4 May 1871. During the 1870's they returned to the New Philadelphia-Dover area and lived there until the untimely death of Margaretha 15 January "Jim", who is now deceased. by Lola Rhoades WINKLER - REISS FAMILY I.770 meetings were held at various school houges, Happy Hollow, Pleasant Hill, Beaver Valley, and Plain View and during that year 32 more persons accepted Christ. They first had church and Sunday School in the Hale school and then eventually decided to uge the Happy Hollow School which was 4 miles south of the Winfreys. They called several pastors through the years but never could rally enough support to keep one steady. They would try to raise $600 a year for a preacher but sometimes could not even get that much, but even though they didn't have a pastor they continued to have Sunday School every Sunday until about 1952. When the military draft started for World War I in 1917, Jimmie was exempt because 1878. Solmon stayed in the area till about 1882 and then migrated West, settling in the late 1880's on the south side of the Republican River, which was in Arapahoe County at that time. It was on this land that he built his rock house which is still standing on the Ebeler Brothers property. Although the house is located in now Yuma Co., his mail was delivered to the Landsman Post Office in Kit Carson Co. in 1901 and maybe even before that. Just about all his business was conducted in either Burlington or Claremont. He established what is called the Winkler ditch in 1894 and during the early 1900's established a tree nursery business. Emma Matilda died very young on the 18 June 1881 at the age of almost 17. Andrew Albert married Esther Alice Bailey on 16 February 1903 and to this union ten children were born. Daughter, Mary Rosetta (1903-1974) married Emery Allen Hovermale. Children: Dorothy Helen, Earnest Elmer, Robert Leonard, Emmett Orville, Betty Maxine, Esther Virginia, Eva Lucille, Ruth Marie, Emery Jr., Ruby Darlene, and Minnie Catherine. Son, William Andrew (1905-1972) married (lst) Louise T. Riggle. Children: Frederick Lewis, Kathleen Ma- he was 31 years old, had 4 children, and was engaged in farming. All 9 of their children completed their first 8 grades at Cook School, Dist. 86, 3 miles north in Yuma County, and attended several different high schools, tilda, Mary Louise, Evelyn and George. (2nd) Alice Merty Bearnan. Children: James Lee married Letha L. Womack, Janice Marie manied Larry L. Whomble, Jerry O. married Nancy R. Neil, and Jackie Lynn married Donald D. Churches. Daughter, Clara Per- Happy Hollow, Burlington, Idalia, Wray and Bruning, NE. Like most farm families they milked cows and raised chickens for added income. Jimmie bought his first tractor in 1930 and the wheat he sowed that fall produced the best yield he had ever had, but the price cilla (1907-) married (1st) HeneryE. Geesesy. (2nd) Frank Standifer. (3rd) George Wood. Daughter, Hannah Francis (1910-) married dropped to below 50 cents a bushel. The next 7 years were rough. With the drought and dust bowl days many farmers just gave up and moved away, leaving their land to be gold for taxes. Jimmie had borrowed $3000.00 from the Federal Land Bank in Wichita, but things got so bad it was impossible for him to keep up the payments and eventually the bank foreclosed, then rented it back to him ifhe would stay there and keep trying to farm it. Before the '30's were over he managed to buy it back along with more gtass land. Two of their sons, Irvin and Ray, served in the U.S. Armed Forces in World War IL In 1952 they helped to organize the First Baptist Church in Burlington and in 1954 a The house was built in the late 1800's. grandchildren. Winfrey on Feb. 18, 1916. Those present were Rev. Ayers, John and Nettie Winfrey, Jimmie and Jesgie Winfrey, and Ed Winfrey (Jimmies'brother). It was decided to organize as Rock house built by Solomon Winkler. The house is still standing on the Ebeler Brothers Property. Solomon Winkler. (tst) WiUiam McCloskey. Child: William. (2nd) D.E. Long. Child: Bonnie. (3rd) C.L. Faulkner. Daughter, Mable Edna (1912Solomon Winkler was born January, 1842 in Tuscarawas County, Ohio to Joseph and Katherina (Neiger) Winkler who migrated from Canton Bern, Switzerland to New Philadelphia, Ohio in 1835. Solomon met Margaretha Reiss (who migrated from Wollstein, Germany) in New Philadelphia and was married 29 October 1863. They had a saloon, grocery, and dry goods business in Dover, Ohio until returning to Worms, Hesse Darmstadt, Germany to 1945) married (1st) Joseph McCloskey. (2nd) Leslie Stage, Children: Nancy, LeRoy, Geraldine. Daughter, Edith Viola (1914-) married (lst) Lorine (Tracy) Horton. Children: Walter, Everett Owen, Bertha May, Russell, Peggy Loraine, and Sharon Jean. (2nd) Monte Benson. Son, Edward Solomon (191?1972) married Christa Whaley. Children: David, Betty Jane and Edward Stanley. Three children, a baby boy (1908), Irene Alberta (1916), and Albert Eugene Maine �(192a) died in infancy. Katherine Elizabeth married John Martin Lee Yount on 6 February 1892 and to this union eight children were born. Daughter, Hazel Loretta (1896-1980) married (lst) Mr. William Bauder. Child: Ruthie. (2nd) Walter Riggle. (3rd) William Claussen. Son, Clay R. (1902-1983) married Geneva Fletcher. Children: Virginia and Norma Jean. Son, Frank F. (1902-1980) married Myrtle May Webb Hetzel. Son, Jacob S. (1907-1959) married Hazel McClure. Child: Jerry. Son, Harry G. (f907-1959) married Louise Phillips. Daughter, Margaret (1910-) married (1st) Louis Denny. (2nd) Irvin Lavier. Children: Sharon, Jackie and David. Two children: Baby boy and Howard died in infancy. Ludwig Edward married Anna M. Click on 2 July 1899 and to this union two children were born. Son. Sirvester Solomon Jefferson (1902-1980) married Mildred Weaver. Child: Shirley. Daughter, Phila Mina married Rudolph Poletti. Children: Regina, Richard, Dennis. David and Yevonne. Solomon passed away on 16 April 1917 and is buried at the St. John's Evangelical Cemetery at Idalia, Colorado. by Jackie L. Churches northwest of the present Peconic elevator, Within a short time, 2 of the family's 4 milch cows bloated and died, thus prompting the family to seek a place with good grass. This they found on the "Correction Line" 12 miles south and 3 miles west of Burlington. This place was to remain home to Dean until 1961, except for a period of time when he attended college. Dean grew up with farming and ranching, Iearning under the able leadership of his father. With cows to milk, calves and hogs to feed, tractors to drive, and a variety of other jobs to be done, the family always kept busy. Before Dean was old enough to attend school, the southwest district consolidated with the Burlington School System. He therefore started and attended school in Burlington all 12 years. Just before Christmas during his first year, the cloth topped bus he rode each day had the misfortune of having a mechanical failure and rolling over into the ditch of the then gravelled Highway 51 (now 385) south of town one morning. Several of the children were seriously injured, but fortunately they all recovered. Dean enjoyed school and took full advantage of all the opportunities it had to offer. One of his favorites was sports, especially football. During his junior year he met a senior girl by the name of Bonnie Joy Dobler. Following a 2 year WITZEL, DEAN FAMILY him home to a small house located 1 mile F77r courtship she became his bride. Bonnie was born in Sterling, Colorado on Nov. 19, 1938, to Theodore Herbert Dobler and Lydia Lebsack Dobler. Her entry into the world was made at St. Benedict's Hospital. On the cold frosty night of Oct. 10, 1939, Donald Dean was born to Franklin Leroy Witzel and Julia Lenore Pettibone Witzel at the Gieshonor Maternity Home in Goodland, Kansas. He was their first child and thev took Her parents were irrigated farmers near Proctor, Colorado because the Dust Bowl afforded no mercies to their little farm northwest of Burlington. In 1941 things began to look better and the family returned to the little adobe house 4 miles west and 5 miles north of Burlington. In this family too, there were cows to milk, eggs to gather, calves to feed, and corncobs to gather for heat. Cleaning the chicken house was one of the least favorite jobs. Bonnie rode the bus to and from school and loved going to town to school and meeting new kids. She too became active in the various activities, especially enjoying music. During this time she also became involved in the 4-H program, with Carl and Gerry Dvorak as leaders of Sunshine 4-H Club. During her senior year she fell for the football captain, Dean Witzel. Upon her graduation she accepted a secretarial position at the Kit Carson County Department of Social Services. On August 18, 1957 we were married at First Christian Church in Burlington in a very pretty summer wedding, going on to Gunnison to attend Western State College and for Dean to take advantage ofhis football scholarship. However, his love for farming was greater, and after football season was over (He played 1 season) we returned home to farm with his parents. In 1961 we moved to the Franke place, which was the original headquarters in 1900 of the Chicago Land and Cattle Company. We milked cows, raised hogs, irrigated corn, pinto beans and wheat. After a few years we changed the milch cows to a beef cow/calf operation to go along with the irrigation. Each spring for a number of years we did custom fertilizing for Western Fertilizer, applying Anhydrous Ammonia as well as dry fertilizer in later years. In the fall we did custom bean harvesting for various other farmers in the area. During these busy years we were also blessed with three children; Doug born Nov. 22,1958; Dena born Sept. 6, 1960; and Donn born Nov. 25,L964. Even through their young years they went with us to do whatever job there was to be done. Running siphon tubes out of an irrigation ditch proved to be the most "fun" job. Everybody always helped carry tubes, which meant mud from head to foot, losing an occasional shoe, and only once did someone fall into that cold water. Our children all attended the Burlington Schools. They too discovered the many new opportunities afforded to "country" kids. With a little encouragement they became involved in at least trying music, (not always with success) then sports (which we all seemed to thrive on), drama, and any kind of competition. We all worked hard at home in order to be able to go whenever the kids participated in something. This proved to be very rewarding when we attended state football playoffs (especially in 1976 when Burlington won the state championship and Doug played center on the team), Dena directing the band in her position as drum majorette and twirler, or Donn playing varsity football or wrestling in the State Wrestling Competition two years in a row. During these years Bonnie went to work in town again as a secretary to help pay for the extra driving. However, it was certainly all worth it. We also became involved in 4-H, first just the kids, and then Dean and I becams lssdsls in various capacities. We held these responsibilities in my former 4-H Club, Sunshine, for most of the next 10 years. These times were Dean and Bonnie Witzel. 1987. special when club members excelled in projects and activities and were rewarded �with trips to Chicago to National 4-H Club Congress or catching a calf at the National Western Stock Show or county fair, or just square dancing at Camp Tobin at Colorado "%r. girls. A cattle ranch had always been the dream of this young couple, but the availability of enough grass had always been a problem. State Fair. March of 1940 afforded the opportunity to Also during this time Dean served two terms on the RE6J Board of Education. In 1974 we were named Outstanding Young Farmer by the local Jaycees and placed third in a lively state competition. move to the ideal place for this dream, a farm 12 mi. south and 3% west of Burlington. Here there was lots of grass and go-back, no fences for miles, and the correction line was still only a trail. Moving day dawned bright and sunny, June of 1981 completed the transition from irrigated farming and cattle to mostly dryland farming and sheep. We began a new farmstead of our very own, located 12 miles south, 2 west and 3/ south of Burlington. We have designed and are working on an earth sheltered home (hopefully in the near future). After several years of being employed, Dean with 4-Corners Fertilizer and myself at The Burlington Record, we are once again working for ourselves. but by evening a real eastern Colorado Doug is married and has blessed us with a grand daughter, Maggie. He is employed at Herman Construction and is also getting into the sheep business. Dena is married and has blessed us with a grandson, Brian, and lives in Greeley where she is a computer operator. Donn, after attending 2 yrs. at Fort Hays problem was soon taken care of with straight State, is employed at Home Center in Burlington, and also has several other busi- ness ventures going. Involved? Yes, we remain involved. We are active members of First Christian Church in Burlington, have a feed business, work at the county fair and help out in the 4-H program whenever we can, and are members of Colorado Woolgrowers. Bonnie enjoys the Burlington Garden Club. Sometimes the schedule seems impossible, but it keeps life interesting. When you stop to realize the sacrifices made by generations before us so that we are able to be citizens of the United States of America, it is only a small favor to ask that we remain involved and continue to help make this world a better place for the next generation to enjoy some of the privileges we have had in our day. This land, despite hailstorms, drouths, and other disasters, has certainly been good to all of us. by Bonnie Witzel WITZEL, FRANK AND LENORE F772 A sod house located 9 miles north and 1 mile east of Kanorado, Kan. (in Colorado) was the birthplace of Lenore Pettibone on Nov. 9. 1916. She was the second of 4 daughters born to Clarence and Celia Smalley Pettibone. Her parents met when Celia taught at the Bert McCall School. Clarence, while transporting his younger brothers and sisters to and from school, became acquainted with and later married the local school marm, and together they raised their girls, Leah, Lenore, Maxine and Thelma. During this time they also built a new farmstead 7 miles north and Vz east of Kanorado. Frank Witzel was born in Gurley, Neb. on Oct. 8, 1915. He was the third of 5 children born to William Henry and Martha Krueger Witzel. In 1923 William and Martha brought their fanily and possessions by horses and blizzard had set in. The following morning there was a herd of range horses backed up against the house to find shelter. One of the many other experiences facing this family were the bedbugs who had already taken residence in the 3 room house. Extermination was a problem, especially with a new baby in the house. Lenore remembers setting the Iegs of the baby bed in tin cans full of kerosene, to keep them from getting on the baby. The gasoline. The first calves for the ranch were bought at the Stratton Sale Barn and hauled home in the trunk of the old Chrysler car. Gathering a reputable Hereford herd took several Frank and Lenore Witzel'on their 50th wedding anniversar5l. wagons, from Sidney, Neb., and became temporary residents of the now vacant sod house. William, also a lover of the land, farmed and raised livestock. Martha served as the community midwife, which kept her busy along with their children, Margaret, Ezra, Frank, Della and William. Frank and Lenore grew up in the same community, attending the same Sunday School, which was held at the District 76 School. Fun times were the basket dinners, neighborhood dances, and other neighborhood gatherings at various homes in the community. As the Witzels and the Pettibones neighbored back and forth, it came as no surprise when Frank chose Lenore to be his bride. They were married Jan. 22, 1934, in Goodland, Kan., and moved into a small 2 room house on Frank's parents' place. During the first years of their marriage, Frank worked along with his father. He and Lenore also ran a trapline in the area during the winter, trapping badgers, skunks, coyotes, and rabbits, selling the hides to Ebert Lynn at the barbershop in Burlington. April of 1937, they rented the Charlie Hansen place near Peconic, from Henry Hoskin. Frank's father gave them a 1020 McCormick Deering tractor on steel wheels with lugs. Farming land on both sides of the "Golden Belt Highway" (now Highway 24) they had to lay planks across the highway before crossing with the 1020, so as not to damage the roadway with the lugs of the tractor. They always had a few cows to milk and chickens for eggs. This was when you could trade a 30 doz. case ofeggs for enough groceries to last a while. During the off season of farming, Frank worked for Maynard Pratt and Abe Ratzlaff for $1.50 per day. In the fall of 1939, he worked under county boss, Jake Schlichenmayer, when the new bridge was built near the Rell Morrow place. Teams of horses were used to pull the slip or fresno during the construction. Oct. 10, 1939, their first son, Donald Dean, was born. This was a special occasion for the Pettibone family after raising a family of all years, during which they also purchased milch cows from Kenny Scheierman. Then the chance to purchase 60 head of Herefords from Charlie Gergen came along, and the numbers of the cattle operation began to increase more rapidly. Frank and Lenore continued the cow-calf herd until 1980. Nov. 17, 1944, brought the anival of Eugene Leroy, their second son. Two sons, farming, a cow herd, and custom work kept them busy year around. Frank worked on threshing crews for Frank Barber and Guy McArthur. As soon as the boys were in school, Lenore worked along side him, leaving when the school bus came in the morning, and being back home when the boys returned in the afternoon. Drought, hailstorms, and blizzards played a big part in the lives of this family. They recall butchering chickens all night July 4, 1946, following a devastating hailstorm. After a day of branding and working cattle, the storm came up, killing chickens, breaking windows, etc. Thanks to whole family working together, they were able to salvage at least part of the damage. The irrigation well in 1955, and machinery were among the many changes during their farming career. A 4440 John Deere tractor is a far cry from the 1020 McCormick Deering or teams of horses. One of Frank's favorite pastimes though is still horses, and he still has a few for his own enjoyment. In 1967 they purchased their new home in Burlington where they now reside, but are still actively engaged in farming, occasionally slipping away to enjoy some trout fishing. They followed and supported both their sons as well as 6 grandchildren as they attended and graduated from the Burlington School system, and have been active church members. In 1957 Dena married Bonnie Dobler and Doug, Dena and Donn became another generation of Witzels. In 1962 Gene manied Barbara Hayden and added Tom, Laurie and Greg. Now 2 great grandchildren have begun yet another generation. This past January Frank and Lenore celebrated 53 years of married life or, as they put it, "pulling together in a double harness". A busy but enjoyable life, with many many blessings; the smell of the freshly turned �earth, a beautiful Eastern Colorado sunset, the winter there were hot lunches. Different to mention only a few, but each new day is still al challenge for this ranching and families took turns preparing the lunches. The kids ranged from first graders to eighth farming family. graders. During a bad dirt storm, the kids had to stay at school till early morning when their parents finally picked them up. In 1943 Will, Martha, and Bill bought a by Bonnie Witzel WTTZEL, WILLIAM DON (BrLL) ranch south of Bethune for their cattle operation. Bill was drafted in 1945 and came back home the last part of 1946. The blizzard of 1946 left the family stranded for about 5 weeks. The food supply was almost exhausted F773 Frederick Witzel was born February 15, 1857, at Dolle, Germany. At age 11 he came with his parents to America, settling at Moline, Illinois. Fredericka (Guenther) Wit- zel was born at Burgstal, Germany on September 5, 1861. She met Frederick and they were married in 1881. They had 7 daughters and 3 sons - one being William Henry Witzel. "Will", as he was called, was born January 31, 1884, in Brainard, Nebraska. Herman Krueger was born on May 23, 1862, in Germany. Herman came as a stow- away aboard a ship bound for the U.S.A. when he was 17 years old. Augusta Henrietta (Wehsener) Witzel was born April 1, 1865. Herman and Augusta were married and had 3 sons and 2 daughters - one being Martha Marie (Krueger) Witzel. She was born on September 23, 1889, in Blue Earth, Minnesota. Will and Martha met in Nebraska when their two families were neighbors. Martha's family moved back to Minnesota. While in Minnesota, Herman Krueger died when he was 44 years old. He was working on a windmill and his hand became caught in the wheel. Herman turned the wheel backwards to free his hand. Infection set in and killed Herman. Augusta moved to town with the kids. Martha was sixteen and went to work for other people to help support her younger brothers and sister. Will was farming with his Dad in Nebraska. Although Will was in Nebraska and Martha was in Minnesota, they kept in touch. Will proposed to Martha on a postcard. One day Will put on his best overalls and boarded a train. Everybody thought Will was going on a business trip. Will arrived in Minnesota and found Martha. Will told Martha they were getting married, he couldn't wait any longer. They were married September 22, 1908, in Blue Earth. Minnesota. When Will returned to Nebraska, he had a wife. Will and Martha lived in Nebraska. To this before they finally got to town. Betty Lou (Bovd) Witzel was born November 25, 1928, in Polk County, Nebraska, to Pete and Ida Boyd. When Betty was 3 years old, her family moved south of Burlington. She attended one-room country school, First View, with her 4 brothers and 2 sisters. Bill and Betty met at a country dance. On February 18, L947, Bill and Betty were married in Goodland, Kansas. The next day they went home and fed cattle because of a blizzard. They lived with Bill's folks for a year. Times were hard in 1948 so Bill drove a school bus for First Central. Roads were through pastures to some homes. In 1948 Will and Martha moved to Arvada where they lived until Will died on June 23, 1963. Martha moved back down to the farm and lived with Bill and Betty until she died at home on February 26, 1986. Both Will and Martha are buried at Fairview Cemetery in Burlington, Co. Bill and Betty continue to live on the farm south of Bethune. To this union 3 children were born. The older son - Kenneth Paul and a set of twins Daniel Ray and Donna Fay. Ken is married to Donna (Thompson) and 5 children were born - Wendy, deceased, Kip, Todd, Lance and Kyle. Ken lives by and farms with his dad. Dan is mamied to Patty (Schwieger) and they have 4 sons - James, Kelly, Ryan and Scott. Dan farms southeast of Stratton. Donna is married to Dave Gwyn and they have 4 children - LaDawn, Amber, KaTina and Andrew. The Gwyn's live south of Stratton where Dave is involved in ranching. by Bill Witzel WOLFE - MATHEWS FAMILY F774 up there and graduated from the Kinsley high school. Clyde D. Wolfe, my father, was born on the Robert A. Wolfe farm at Lewis, Kansas, June 20, 1889. He attended country school Number 13 near there. He grew to manhood on the home farm learning to be a farmer, the occupation he followed all his life. Clyde and Alice met when she later beceme the teacher ofthat same country school. They were married in Kansas City, Kansas, December 15, 1914. Land was cheaper in Colorado than in Kansas. Clyde made his first trip to Colorado on a motorcycle in 1915 or 1916. He bought a quarter section of sod land two miles east and a fourth mile north of Flagler. He paid $1800.00 for the quarter section. A well was dug and a two room frame house and a frame barn were built. The weathered barn and wind mill still stand northeast of Flagler. In the spring of 1916, Clyde hired a young m€rn to drive a team and wagon loaded with supplies from Kansas to Colorado. The trip took about three weeks. The stock, machinery and household goods were brought in one end of a railroad car, the other end being used for the stock. Clyde traveled in the railroad car with the stock. Alice, with their first baby, came by passenger train in May of 1916. Clyde started farming in Colorado with horses, a moldboard plow, a disk, a single row lister and cultivator. About 1922, he bought a Case tractor, a three moldboard plow, a disk and a drill so that he could grow wheat. Horses were still used extensively. Seven children were born to the union Jack, Charity, Opal, Ruby, Betty, Robert and Clyde William. Our family lived on four different places in the Flagler area the home on the original quarter and then -the Ball place two miles east of town. In 1928, the Nielsen place, one mile east and four miles north of town was purchased. In 1934, we moved to the Henry Kliewer place one mile east and three miles north of town. We survived the depression, the drouth and the dust storms of the thirties. During the worst years our cows survived by eating thistles. We burned our share of cow chips and if we were lucky we had corn cobs. In good years we had coal. We raised, butchered and cured our own meat. We raised a big garden, canned the produce and over the years our mother hatched and raised thousands of chickens. My mother tells this story. It was about union were born 2 sons and 2 daughters. Will and his father, Frederick, sold their land in Nebraska and bought land in Colorado. They could get two acres of Colorado land to every one acre of Nebraska land. The families moved by a teom of horses and wagons in 1923. Frederick moved northeast of Bur- 1922. Silent movies were shown in Seal hall. As a special treat the folks decided to take in a movie. We all contracted small pox at the show. Fortunately we had light cases and we all survived. About 1924, radios became available. Our father bought a Crosley with a big metal horn for a speaker. It had A batteries, B batteries lington. Will moved 23 miles northeast of Burlington. Frederick died May 20, 1923, and Frederick died April L2, 1935. Both are buried at the Fairview Cemetery in Burlington, Co. While living here Will and Martha had another son - William Don Witzel (Bill) on January 9, t927. Bill was born in the sod house. Bill went to Plainview School District 33, a one-room country school 5 miles from his house. Different families each week took turns hauling kids to and from school. During My mother, Alice May Mathews Wolfe, was born on the Mathews Hereford ranch at Kinsley, Kansas, October 31, 1890. She grew Wedding picture of Alice May Mathews and Clyde D. Wolfe. married December 15, 1914 in Kansas City, Kansas. and a storage battery. It required an outside aerial from the house to a pole in the yard. Neighbors often came in the evening to listen to the radio. We also enjoyed an Edison record player with cylindrical records and a great tin horn. The great-grandchildren consider it a treat to hear that record player today. In 1938, the family moved to a farm four miles south and a half mile east of Elizabeth. �Y ,,iiffil] ' i.; i' t,lirra ',llll,:;ll''j was born on my Mother's birthday, Sept. 21, 1955. When we would move Dad would look f, :- : -t-.. for jobs in the want ads in the papers. Then we'd sell the larger household items, pack our personal belongings in a truck and car and we'd be off. When we got to our new homlre'd buy what ever we needed to get by on. I guess to some it might look like we never had much but we were always well fed and well clothed. Mom always said we got good educations too because we had to learn to get along with all kinds of people. On most of the ranches Mom would cook 3 meals a day for 10-Jp ranch hands, and still do the laundry, an{.jleaning, care it took to raise 5 children. Dadlnew and loved horses and cattle, he took good care of them and taught us to do the same. We always had a good dog, too! We were trained to care for all the animals before we ate or came in for the day. Dad was very particular about building a good fence and keeping a neat yard. Some of the states we lived in were: Nebraska, California, Idaho, Texas, and Colorado. Dad came from Herndon, Ks. and Mom from Culbertson, Nebr. We were living on a ranch at Roggen, Colo. when Gene and Jan Hadacheck from Vona cntne and asked us to work for them in 1959-60. I can Golden wedding celebration of Alice and Clyde Wolfe taken at Opal Wolfe Mauldin's home, Lakewood, Colorado in 1965. s* father stayed up all night and about 2 A.M. awakened her to view the celestial spectacle. by Charity Wolfe Clement WOLKENSDORFER FAMILY F775 My parents Urbin Raymond "Shorty" Wolkensdorfer, and Mary Louise "Marylou" Fish were married in 1941, in McCook, Nebr. My father served in W.W. II, where he was awarded the Purple Heart for a wound he Weathered barn built by Clyde Wolfe about 1916' Picture was taken in 19?9. Colorado. Jack and Charity graduated from the Flagler high school. Opal, Ruby, Betty, Robert and Clyde William graduated from the Elizabeth high school. The children all survive. All are married and have families. Jack served overseas as a marine in World War II. Clyde William served overseas in the Korean war. My brothers all reside in the Lewis, Kansas area. Opal and I live in Lakewood, Colorado. Ruby and Betty live at Elizabeth, Colorado. Our father passed away in 1978 at the age of 89. Our mother survives at the age of 95. She lives alone in her home in Elizabeth. She goes to church, writes her own checks and still raises chickens. She has twenty-six grandchildren and thirty great grandchildren. She recalls seeing Halley's Comet in 1910. Her sustained in battle. My mother kept a scrapbook of the happenings of the War as it spread across Europe. When us kids were older we always wanted to show off with the medals etc., but Dad wouldn't let us; he'd say, "put those away (or) throw them away" he, (understandably), wanted to put those dark days far behind him. I, Janice Louise, was born the eldest of five children on Feb. 3, 1947, in St. Joseph's Hospital in Denver. My mother recently gave me a copy of the bill, it was only $62.89, but I suppose that seemed Iike a lot then. My father worked on ranches, some were far from any towns. There was no elecricity, or telephones, I wonder how they did it? Dad worked hard. I can remember one cattle roundup where the men branded and worked the calves out in the pasture, and Mom brought the meal out to them. On Dec. 8, 1948, my sister Margie Kaye, was born in McCook, Nebr. and then on May 4 1950, my other sister, Theresa Raye was born in McOook also. Then we moved to a ranch called the Tausig Ranch at Kremling, Colo. where my brother Dennis John (Jack) was born on Dec. 10, 1951. From here to the Kilpatrick Ranch at Imperial, Nebr. where my younger brother Joseph Raymond (Joe), remember the blizzard of that year, the snow was so bad we missed school for two weeks. We had to make the days up by attending on Saturdays. We moved away in 1960 only to return again in 1963-64. At this time Dad worked for Roy Wasson, and Mom worked at the Kit Carson County Hospital. Then we moved back to the Reed Ranch and worked for Gene Hadacheck again. It was here that my husband Lyndell Salmans and I |.egan dating. Our house was on the correctionjidtrth of Vona, and I can still remember how excited I'd get watching for him to come down the Vona road in his brand new 1964 Chevrolet car. We graduated from High School together in 1965 and were married in 1966 at the St. Charles Catholic Church in Stratton by Father Edward Dinan. We lived in Canon City, Colo. for 3 years, then returned to the Salmans farm north of Vona. I hope to never move again because I love this Kit Carson county and the people in it. But . . . if my husband said "Let's go" I've have enough practice at moving so I'd say "I'm ready". Although my pioneer spirit had been quenched back in 1957 or '58, when I had decided to do like I'd heard tell of my forefathers and walk home from school. The one mistake I had made was, not telling anyone where I was going, and the other mistake I had made was, not taking a direct route home! I walked over the Dam, (I don't even know the name of it today, but it was near Minetare, Nebraska). When I didn't get off the school bus, my mother (very worried of course) went to search for me, and had to return empty-handed only to find me sitting there very smug. Well needless to say she took the pioneer spirit right out of me!!! She said "I'm tired of the "roughing it days", like the time when I'd killed several snakes (and she was scared of snakes) and piled them bq the burn barrel to show Daddy and there-you were right in the middle of them playing with the old dead things and the other time when Theresa was a new baby and nearly died of pneumonia, and you and Margie were playing at a stock tank you came screaming in to tell me Margie wasswimmingin the tank, I didn't know what to do, Theresa was turning blue �Henry Wood and his son Harvey Wood in the 1940's. The Gordon Burr homestead was a sod house, a barn with a stall on one end for his buggy team and a rock corral with part ofthis covered with a thatch roof of soap weeds, etc. Some of the corral rock foundation is still visible today. This is west of where my trailer house sets. The Burr homestead was known as the "horse ranch" because during this time many horse traders headquartered here. Henry Wood built a two story, four room rock house which still stands, raising his family of 6 boys and 1 girl; Lucy, Art, Haivey, Ted, Earl, Ralph, and Ivan. In 1916 they built a barn 20x80 feet which is still in good shape. In 1930 my parents Harvey and Dale Wobd moved on to the place and have operated it, later buying the place in May of 1940. They added to the old rock house in the late 30b and late 40's to its present structure and raised their family of 3 boys and 3 girls here; Lois, Bud, Merna, Bill, Bob and Audrev. From 1940 until April 1962, Harvey Wood put together some homesteads of Rosser Davis, Alfred Clair, Leah Glass Davis. Flovd Shields, John G. Davis, Johnny Jay, Elias Davis, John Glass Davis, Joseph Newberry, Jrbin Raymond and Marylou wolkensdorfer taken in Mccook, NE on May 81, rg41. tnd another kid of mine was drowning, and ;hat you'd better learn to appreciate things ike telephones and school-buses" . . . I ;hought (at the time) she'd made a little nuch of a "little ole walk" home. but todav vith raising children of my own I see hei loint very clearly. I always tell people I went to 20 schools refore I graduated and lived in 5 states. but like Colorado the best. My sister Margie narried Rodney Davis and they live south of /ona; my sister Theresa lives in Greeley, and s about to be remarried. My brother Jack is narried and lives in Shallow Water, Kansas, .nd my brother Joe is married and lives in )enver. My parents now have 10 grandchilden. They now live in Denver, but have never ost the knack to move around and Mother 98 says she's gotten quite used to it and can do it pretty well by now. by Janice Salmans William Wilcox, Morton Davis, Charles Woodard, Frank Rich, Homer Hightower, Carrie Root, Taylor, Carl Andrais, I.D. Messenger and the last piece of land, the Knoll place, making the ranch approximately 6000 acres. The late 20's and early 30's took a drastic WOOD FAMILY toll on the homesteaders due to finance, F776 Wood Ranch My grandfather, Henry Wood came here in 1909 and bought a relinquishment from Gordon Burr and moved his wife. Rachel. and family here in 1910 from Hill City, Kansas and later homesteaded the NW %, sec. 18, TW 6, range 46. moral, the "dust bowl" days. grasshopper plagues and the 193b flood. Rosser Davis moved his family after the 193b flood southeast ofthe ranch. Others moved to other parts of the country some leaving in the 1920's. While Harvey and Dale Wood were raising their family, they worked hard and long hours. Chores consisting of milking cows-, feeding calves and hogs and putting up hay and feed. In the summers of the B0's and 40's putting up the hay was done by horses stacking the hay loose. This always took from �7 to 12 hired men each summer and Dale always cooked for these men and still took care of her families needs. The hay fields on the Wood ranch have seen many changes from horse drawn machinery to the modern tractor, swathers and balers. Irrigation on the hay and alfalfa land has been a big change. My mother, Dale, and brother Bob still live on the home place, and my wife, Eva, and I live in a mobile home, moving on the place in 1960, raising our 3 children, Devin, Janet, and Lance here on the Wood Ranch. by Edward (Bud) Wood WOOD - ADOLF FAMILY r.777 ,,,;',, ,:': :' "Bud" Edward C. Wood was born Dec. 19, 1931, in a rock house twenty miles northeast of Stratton, Co., near the Republican River, to Harvey W. and Iona Dale Baker Wood. The second child of six children: Lois Wood Adolf born Jan. 8, 1930, died Feb. 26, 1955, Merna Wood Benton, born Aug. 29, 1934' William H. Wood born Oct. 9, 1936, Robert S. Wood born May 21, L940 and Audrey Wood Smith, born Nov. 30, 1943. Bud attended South Tuttle School District # 39 for six years, one year in Stratton school, then back to South Tuttle for his eighth grade. He stayed home one year then attended Kirk High, graduating in 1950. Bud was drafted into the armed services in 1952 during the Korean War. He served the ,';]:'l' Eva and Bud Wood on their wedding day June 5, ;.t:: 1955. Bud and one of his saddle horses in 1976. education. Bud and I both are members of "there's a snake out here." Bud and Philip went out and killed a big rattlesnake. They got to looking and killed 19 more! So there was enough of us as the rattlers had been bad for several years. We bought a mobile home and moved to Bud's folks' place in 1961. We still live there. Along with his Dad and brother, Bob, they raise cattle, horses, hay, wheat and corn, Their father passed away July 27, 1987. Bud enjoys raising top quality cattle and good saddle horses. Bud gets a great deal of Immanuel Lutheran Church. and our children were baptized and confirmed into the Immanuel Lutheran Church. Janet graduated from Colorado State University in 1980, Lance from the Nor- theastern Junior College, in 1979 and Devin will graduate from Utah State University in 1988. 29th Division with the 519th Engineers, being When we were first married we lived on a place belonging to Ed Stahlecker, 5 miles discharged in Oct. of 1954. Bud married Eva Marie Adolf on June 5, 1955. We had three children, Devin C. born Aug. 3, 1956, Janet M. born Sept. 3, 1958, and Lance D. born Sept. 29, 1959. All three graduated from Stratton High School. Two of our goals for our family was church and south from where we live now. We lived here for 5 years and this is where all three of the children were born. In the fall of 1960 Philip Waitman and two of his sons stopped by for a visit. The children were out playing in the yard pulling a wagon up and down the road. One of the boys came running in and said, enjoyment raising and racing thoroughbreds and running quarter horses. One of our highlights in our life has been a trip to Ireland in 1984. While there we got to go the Ireland National Stud Farm. This was a real thrill to Bud as he got to see some of the top National Studs and their young colts. They were very beautiful animals. I, Eva Marie, was born on Dec. 4, 1933 to A.W. and Mary Weisshaar Adolf. My younger brother, Allan, and I were often referred to as their "second family", as there was several years between us and the older children. I had 5 sisters and 1 brother older: Hilda (Ziegler), Amanda (Richards), Leona (Hefner), Gladys (Patterson), Art Adolf, Della (Pugh). With the exception of Della the rest were gone from home. When the kids were in school we enjoyed going to sports and activities, they were involved in. I like to sew, knit and like to be outdoors, gardening and raising calves. Bud was a 4-H leader for 8 years and I was a 4-H leader for 10 years. Bud served on the F.H.A. board for 3 years, and six years on the Stratton School board. I worked for one year at Duckwalls and 2 years as bookkeeper for J.M. McDonald Co. Our youngest son Lance married Teresa Admas on Aug. 22, L987. by Eva Wood Our family, L. to R.; Janet, Devin, Eva, Bud, Lance Wood and seated A.W. and Mary Adolf on their 60th wedding anniversary in L972, �WOOD - STORER FAMILY r.778 Henry and Rachel in Corpus Christi, Texas. Winter of 1929-80. Henry Harrison Wood, Rachel Haws "Storer" Wood, daughter Lucy Charlotte and son Arthur about 1900. at least once in the early 1900's from Vz mlle south of the farm to Vz mile north.) The south, or lower half, of the farm was purchased from Mr. Floyd Burr and the upper part was homesteaded by Henry and Rachel and it was on this part they built their home. (This home is presently owned by Harvey and Dale Wood and sons.) Besides raising the family of seven children there, Henry and Rachel bred and raised saddle and work horses, hogs, cattle, and always a large garden. The cash crop was always baled hay, eggs, and cream. Ag were all of the pioneers of the area, they were very frugal, inventive, and either "made do or do without". Ralph Wood relates the time when a "Merry-go-round" came to the old "Tuttle Store" (located only about a mile northwest of the farm adjacent to the "Messenger Farm"), that was powered by an old steam boiler. Shortly after its arrival the gates burned out and fell apart. His father, Henry, was an old hand at steam-powered threshing machines, and using some mud from a bog down on the river, fashioned some Henry H. and Rachel H. Wood around the year 1900. Henry Harrison Wood was born November 28,t870, in Shelby County, Iowa to James M. Wood and Celia Ann Harris. He married Rachel Haws Storer, daughter of Aaron Storer and Charlotte Minniss of Bloomington, Osborne County, Kansas, on Sept. 25, 1894. To them were born 1 daughter, Lucy C. Wood, and 6 sons: Arthur, Harvey, Lester (Ted), Earl, Ralph; The youngest, Ivan, was born at "Tuttle", Kit Carson County, Colo, on the 17th of June 1912. During the 15 years of residence in Kansas, Henry H. Wood was a farm laborer or share cropper, and plied a trade of following the harvest and running a threshing machine and crew. In the spring of 1909, Henry and family arrived in Burlington, Colo. by railway, and a Mr. Jake Pierce took them out to the site that was to become their new home. Located on the north side of the Republican River, approximately 20 miles NE of Statton, Colo. and within a Yz mile or so of the old "Tuttle School" (even though the school was moved grates and repaired the boiler. All of the Wood children got to ride "Free" for their Dad's services in fixing the engine. Rachel Wood was a saintly woman with a heart full of charity. She served as midwife to two-thirds of the babies born in this area (as the doctor had to come from Stratton at least an 8-hr. buggy ride away), as well as stepmother to several young women who were befriended by their only daughter "Lucy". They had been either maligned or abused by their own fathers. I'm sure Lucy enjoyed their company as well, being the only girl with 6 younger brothers. Henry and Rachel struggled hard to be sure all ofthe children had a good education, with most of them going to high school in Burlington. Art and Lucy went to college in Grand Island, Nebr. for 2 years; Ralph and Ivan both received college degrees. Harvey started to high school in Stratton, but after a couple ofdays walked home and stated that he 'didn't need that hassle'. That has been proven by his making the old homestead into one of the largest and successful ranches in the northeast corner of Kit Carson Countv. Harvey and Lucy were the only children who stayed to make their lives a part of Kit Carson County history. Lucy married EArl D. Messenger, and they resided first on the old Messenger Homestead, then in Stratton. until her death in 1948. Henry had some wanderlust in his veins, inherited from his father. As the boys grew older and departed, Henry and Rachel were driven to Corpus Christi, Texas, in fall/winter of 1929-30 by their son, Ralph; the lower, warmer climate would help with their health problems. They stayed in some cabins owned by an old sea captain, with whom Henry went fishing a great deal. They obviously were successful as the photo will attest. When his beloved Rachel passed away in May, 1933, Henry pretty well turned the ranch over to Harvey and Dale and spent his remaining years traveling throughout the Western states, fishing and hunting in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, California, and around Salida, Colo. He returned each witner to the ranch and to his daughter Lucy's home in Stratton. He passed on June 4, 1950, and he and Rachel are interred in the Burlington cemetery. by C.W. Messenger WOOD, HARVEY F779 Harvey Wood came to Colorado in 1910 as a child from Hill City, Kansas, with his parents, Henry and Rachel, sister Lucy, brothers Arthur, Lester, Earl, Ralph and Ivan. Harvey was the third child. They lived 20 miles northeast of Stratton on the Republican River. On November 11, 1928, Harvey married Dale Baker. Six children were born to this union: Lois, Edward, Merna, William, Robert and Audrey. All married but Robert. Lois and Ralph Adolf, her husband, had a pair of twin boys, Wayne and Wesley and a baby boy, Junior, two weeks old when Lois passed away in 1955. Each boy has children. .our great grands. Wayne and Vernie have two boys and orre girl, Shawn, Shadd and Shannon. Weslev and Katherine have two girls, Jamie and Kim. Junior and Debbie have one boy, Brian. Edward (Bud) and his wife Eva Adolf have �two boys and one girl: Devin, Lance and Janet. Devin is going to college in Utah; Lance and his wife live and work in Yuma, Colorado; and Janet lives in Sterling where she works for Farmland Industries. Merna and husband, Lee Benton, live 1/z mile north of Joes, Colorado. They have one girl, Lynn Benton Hill, whose two children are Brandon, 5, and Breanna, 3. Currently, Lynn is in Kansas city, Missouri, going to college. William's three boys live in the area. Mel and wife Debbie with baby Tyler, 16 months, live north of Vona. Darwin and wife Denise have two boys, Nathan, 5 years, and Niklas, 18 months. Marvin, youngest, is at Kansas to take care of Raymond's mother. After her death they returned to Burlington where they are now living in one ofthe houses moved into "Old Town", and they are both employed there. Old Town is getting to be quite an attraction being flashed on the T.V. news every evening. The huge restored old red barn, the little Methodist Church, the one room country school house, and the house the Woods family is living in, is only the beginning. Hopefully it will be a tourist attraction in years to come. by Mrs. Ted Eberhart Greeley, Colorado working and going to college part time. Grant is going to college at Rolla, Missouri. Darcy is in his second year of high school, at home with his parents. Harvey's wife, Dale Baker, was born in Kansas near Downs. In 1908 at the age of 17 months, she came to Stratton, Colorado, with her parents, John and lona Baker, a sister Olive, two brothers, Ed and Vean. They lived five miles northwest of Stratton. On the 27the day of July of 1987' Harvey WORTHINGTON FAMILY F78l Dad passed away Feb. 17, 1966 in Denver when I was 13. Ron was in the Navy and Lynn was a senior. My brothers and I farmed until I graduated from school. Lynn farmed for a few years and we leased the land for a period of time, but eventually we sold the farm. While in high school, we enjoyed going to the movies on weekends, going to the pool hall and cruising. The Phillips 66 gas station on the highway was a favorite place to hang out and work on our cars. Larry Kennedy bought a '57 Chevy from his cousin and we used to go to the drag races to watch Larry race. We also had a lot of fun going to Denver on weekends and skiing. School activities included band trips, ball games, and special programs like the Junior and Senior play. Homecoming was always one of the major events of the year, and I still enjoy attending when I can. The homecoming game in 1965 when Flagler beat Seibert 103-0 was one to remember. My brother Lynn had intercepted a pass and was running for a touchdown when F780 Raymond and Leah Woods came to Colorado from Beloit, Kansas in 1945 with their three children, Latry, Alva and Helen Ruth. Raymond went to work for Hinkhouse and Ersch on the Beverage Ranch, in the Smoky my Grandmother Cronkhite, who I don't believe had ever been to one of our gnmes, started calling to Lynn that he was running Hill Community. The children went to the Smoky Hill School, where Ruth Lengell was Larry and Alva's first teacher. Helen, Ruth's remembers her well because she spanked her Tina, Ralph, Karen, Geoff and Bard Worthington in front of their Midland, Texas home, Oct.1987' Bentley was her favorite teacher. Linda Rose was born in 1947 and Susan in My parents, Robert Riley and Shirley The Woods family moved from the Bev- erage Ranch to the Smoky Hill School where Raymond was employed by the school. Leah was one of the bus drivers and also worked in the hot lunch room. All of the Woods children went to Smoky Hill school except Susan until the school was consolidated with Burlington. The Woods moved to the Joe Lindsey place and then back to Smoky Hill, where Raymond was a mechanic and helped everybody with such problems. They bought the ground and the buildings there and later sold them to Barry Walters of Florida. Larry Woods and his family live in Oklahoma, Alva is in Wyoming. Helen Ruth, Linda and Susan are all in Colorado. After leaving the Smoky Hill Community Raymond and Leah went back to Beloit, got a lot of use hunting with Kerry Rich, Bob Polzin, Jay Fellers and other friends. The big ski. WOODS, RAYMOND 1955. off walks, and other odd jobs around town. I had a 4-H calf when I was 12 and used the money I had earned to buy a shotgun, which going to the lake and swimming or finding someone with a boat who would let us water by Dale Baker Y[ood for not spelling the word "this" . . Mrs. various organization get-togethers and card parties were always a chance to play with friends. My brothers and I were in band and played football and other sports. When band started in the 4th grade and we were able to bring instruments home, Odis Goodwin and I would stand on our porches and blow our horns at each other across the street. always be remembered. We always enjoyed - his mother still away in fact. Now Robert and live there. Edward and Eva also live across the driveway from the old home. first teacher, was Mrs. Statler, and she Legion, scouts, church and other functions and enjoyed visiting and playing pitch. The flood in '65 which filled the new dam will passed away. He and his wife had lived on the until he passed Wood place for many years AND LEAH town. Dad sold the farm house and part ofthe land and built a house at 725 Rufner. Dad and Mom were active in the American My brothers and I would earn money selling things, mowing lawns, shoveling snow home. Robert is living with his mother, Dale, at home. Audrey and husband, Doyle Smith, who live in a Kansas City suburb, have three boys: Shane, Grant and Darcy. Shane lives in when the school year was over, we moved back to Flagler, only this time we lived in the wrong way. After graduation in 1971, I went to Morgan County Community College in Ft. Morgan where I met my wife, Tina Marie Wray of Scott City, Ks., and we married in 1973. Mother married Sylvan Morris in 1971 and Margaret (Cronkhite) Worthington, came to they moved to Littleton, where they still live. brothers, Ronald Riley and Donald Lynn, in 1952. Dad had bought a half-section of land 20 miles north of Arriba at Shaw to farm. For a while they lived in Arriba where Mother's parents, Casey and Opel Cronkhite, lived. The family goon moved to a farm northwest of Flagler and I was born soon afterwards on Jan.20, 1953 in the Flagler hospital. Shortly after that, Dad bought a farm seven miles northeast of town from Mother's oldest brother, Kenneth Cronkhite Jr., where Dad farmed and raised cattle. Our nearest neighbors were Gene and Dorothy Nichols, Glen City, IA. in 1981 where I earned my M.S. degree in Geology from the University of Colo. from Seiling, Okla. with my two and Lannie Rutter, and Slim and Zoe Goodwin (who had the only phone in the area). We lived there just a few years and when I was four years old, we moved to Colorado Springs for the rvinter. However After getting a degree in Radio Broadcasting at MCCC, I served four years in the Navy as an Anti-submarine helicopter crewman. After being discharged from the Navy, I went back to college in Colorado Springs and then attended USC in Pueblo, where I earned my B.S. in Geology in 1980. We moved to Iowa Iowa in 1982. I began working as a Petroleum Geologist with Atlantic Richfield (ARCO Oil and Gas Co.) in Denver where we lived for two years. In 1984 we transferred to Midland, Texas, where we currently live at 1700 Cimmaron. Our children are Geoffrey Allan (Dec. 15, 1976, Jacksonville, FL), Karen Ann (May 27, 1981, Iowa City, IA.) and Bradley David (Feb. 5, 1984, Longmont, CO). Growing up in Flagler was a special time �because of the friends and relationships developed during that time which continue even though we have grown up and gone our and her brothers walked to school B miles, playing on the way. There was not too much time to play at home, as they were always busy with chores. They would meet the Rodwell kids on the way and would all sit down and share their lunches. Rodwells would have large cookies in their lunches and the cookies always went first. When noon came no lunch. different ways. by Ralph E. Worthington WORTHINGTON, ROBERT FAMILY In -the fall of '21, Grandad's nephew Cliffard recollects, that he and his Dad and brother stayed with Grandad and said "Nathan knew the Riemenschneiders and E7a2 talked about Mary alot. As Grandad was 24 years her senior he was cautious. but he dressed sporty and he didn't show his age." On their first date he was driving a horse and Robert and Shirley Worthington cnme to Colorado from Oklahoma in September, 1952. We had two sons, Ron and Lynn. In January of 1953 Ralph was born. We lived at that time two miles west of Flagler in the old Dragoo house. While living there the state was in the process of building Interstate 70 buggy. To keep their feet warm he brought along a hot stone and some woolen blankets. Great-grandma told them that one of Gran- ny's brothers would go along and Grandad said, "That's alright, the more the merrier." After that it was ok for them to go along by themselves. Grandad was known to sing to Granny on almost every date. Some of his favorites were "Whistling Rufus", "Doris", "My Little Girl", and "She's more to be so detoured the traffic by our house. We had lots of dust storms at that time. In 1957 we purchased a farm from Kenneth Cronkhite, 9 miles northeast of Flagler. We also purchased the Bonham place further north. We were still having dust storms and at one time the dust came in so thick it was pitch black at 8 o'clock in the morning. We had to put wet sheets up at the windows to try to keep the dust out. That was about the time farmers began to strip farm which helped. In 1960 we purchased the half block north of Charley Kellers at 8th and Ruffner in Flagler and built a house on it with the help of Babe Goodwin. We lived there at the time of Robert's death in 1966. I stayed on till all the boys graduated from high school at which time I married Sylvan Morris and we moved to Littleton, Colorado. Ron and his wife Paula and two children, Robert and Opel, now live in Kingsburg, California. He drives a truck for an insulation company. Lynn and his wife Barb and two children, Pam and Robin, live in Loveland, Colorado. He is a postman for the town of Loveland. Ralph and his wife Tina and three children, Geoffrey, Karen, and Bradley, live in Mid- land, Texas, where he is employed with ARCO as a geologist. by Shirley TVorthington Morris WRIGHT REIMENSCHNEIDER FAMILY F783 On my Mom's side: Great-great grandad William Wright lived in Maryland. He married a girl that worked in a factory. It is said that his parents didn't have too much to do with him after that. He and his bride went to lllinois for a time. then on to Galena. Iowa where my Great-grandad, Charles Other (Ollie) was born, on Feb. 26, 1850. Fire ravaged the house in Galena to destroy a lot. Great-grandad wasn't known to speak of his parents much, but at one time the family lived near Epworth, Iowa, where he met Great-grandma Catherine (Dolly) Cartnell. After they were married they lived in Dubuque, Iowa, close to the railroad tracks. Great- Grandad and Granny Wright (Mary and Nate) grandma was said to have used to feed the hoboes, as well as to trade with the Indians. She was born in Minnesota in 1852. My Grandad, Nathan Perry was born Aug. L3, L877. He had 2 brothers, Charles and Fred. Completing 4 grades of school in Dubuque he moved to Fairbury, Nebraska to begin his manhood. Later on the family moved to Oberlin, Kansas. Grandad recalls on a taped recording at the age of 84 that he and hie Dad used to come out to Colorado to hunt buffalo. He said "When the Indians were savages yet, they were traveling along one time, when they came across a covered wagon. A dog was tied up to a tree, looked like he didn't have anything to eat for a couple of weeks." The horses were still hitched to the wagon so they took the harness off and threw them across the tongue ofthe wagon. He said, "We suspected that the Indians stole the horses after they got out on the pasture. Then we saw someone coming from the East, who told us to be careful, Indians are just over the next rise." Asked if Indians were there Grandad replied, "Yeah, several of them, they must have come in trains." 1917 brought them to settle in Colorado, filing a claim on a homestead 1% miles south of Thurman. It was there they stayed until both their deaths in 1932 and 1934. Great-grandad George Frederick Wilholm Riemenschneider was born on July 31, 1861 in Edaness, Germany. Making the move to America he and his parents settled in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1873. During 1891 he moved to Denver and worked on the B and M Railroad. Great-grandma Fredrika Carolina Kalisch was born Aug. 17, 1873 in Wisconsin. Aug. 11, 1894 marks the wedding date of my Great-grandparents. While living in Denver they had 4 kids, George, Fred, Edward, and my Grandma, Mary Augusta Amelia. After Granny was born on .Apr. 9, 1902 the family moved to a place where they purchased land, near Thurman. Then 7 more children were born, Herman, Alma, John, Aaron, Louise, Simon, and Emma. Attending school at Capitol Hill near Thurman, Granny completed 6 grades. She Pitied than Censored". Wedding bells rang on May 3, L922 for Grandad and Granny Wright. When they returned from the cere- mony in Akron, a delicious banty rooster dinner with all the trimmings was waiting for them. Great-grandma gave them a cow for a wedding present. My mother was born Mar. 2,t923, Marjorie Luceil. After Mom was born they moved from the Henry Clayton place to the Dean Place. It bordered Kit Carson, Lincoln and Washington Counties. A 2 room house part sod and part frame built sheltered the 5 more sisters that were to be born, Elma, Delphia, Rose Marie, (whom died shortly after birth), Mildred, and Darlene. Later on another section of sod was added onto the house. In the winter of '35-'36 Grandad became very ill, which left him with rheumatism and pernicious anemia. The children picked up Scarlet Fever in school and Granny was pregnant. The doctor whisked her out of the house to a neighbors'so that she and the baby wouldn't get it. That left Grandad and my mom to tend to the rest of the children and battle quarantine and then fumigation with burning sulphur. Rough times hit hard when the bank foreclosed on them and took everything they had except the cow they had received as a wedding present. In 1939 they moved to the Davies Place about 5 miles south east of Thurman. It was here that they lost a flock of turkeys to wild coyotes. Nathan Edward was born in the Flagler Hospital and the youngest girl, Ardis, was born in Hugo. Great-uncle Fred lived with them until his death in 1956 and would always stick up for the kids when they got into trouble. The farming and milking was a way of life, with the farming done by a tenm of horses. Keeping milk cows and hogs kept food on the table. (When there was money to buy them.) Granny took the cream and milk to the Flagler Depot to be shipped to Denver. Sometimes when she couldn't get to town because of bad weather the mailman, Rube Sparks would cariy it to town for her: Grandad always had a garden and raised potatoes as his favorite. Granny also raised chickens and sold eggs to the store in Anton. Grandad was well known for his love of fiddle music, and entertained friends and neighbors � 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- W Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1988 Description An account of the resource Brief histories of Kit Carson County founding families whose names begin with "W." As found 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 Biographies 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/16/510/Families-X_Y_Z.pdf 061d158c54d01f629e9365b94e7d1af6 PDF Text Text for miles around and often times played at barn dances. by Dolly Mae Elliston not suffer the hardships that others did. Mrs. Sarah Yale, whose maiden name was Sarah D. Bevier, was a native of New York oldtimers have stayed on, because there was no better place for us to go. being born in Ulster county on June 18, 1853. While still a small child she moved with her by Roscoe Conklin Yarnell parents to Illinois. She was united in YALE, WILLIAM HENRY marriage to Sherman Henry Yale on December 25, 1874. They had two children, Lillian Mae and William Henry. Lillian Mae married YERSIN FAMILY F786 A.N. Corliss. F784 William Henry Yale was born in Iowa on December 23. 1882 and came to Colorado with his parents in the fall of 1886. This is his story. Father took up a pre-emption in Sec. L2-7-45. There were no railroads here then and we traveled in a covered wagon and brought our household goods with us. Father plowed the land with a tenm of oxen. Father came our in February, 1886, filed on this homestead, and built a small sod shack. Later he built a sod dugout at the back ofthe soddy, and this gave us more room. The lumber needed for our home was hauled from Benkelman, Nebraska. Water was hauled from Lostman (Landsman) Creek, two and one-half miles east of us. Later we had a well dug with I.D. Messenger and his brother doing the work and digging the 170 feet with shovels. Then water was hauled up by a windlass. We used this well almost two years before we put up a windmill. Father got a contract to carry mail and did this for the first three years for $300.00 per year. Tho route was from Jaqua, KS, to Friend, CO. In 1889 a Post Office wag established in our home and named the "Yale Post Office." Then the mail route was from Burlington to Goff, then to Landsman, and then to Yale a distance of fifty-two miles. He made three trips a week using a horse and buggy and in all carried the mail for eleven years. When father got busy at farming, mother would carry the mail. Later Mother was appointed Post Mistress at Yale Post Office, a position she held until 1906 when the post office was discontinued at Rural Routes established. I went to a sod school house one and one- half miles from where we lived. Jas. T. Gilmore was my first teacher and I rode horseback to school. When thirteen ye{us of age I started riding for the BAR-T Ranch and worked we lived. Burt Ragan was foreman at that time and we had about one Thousand head ofcattle on the range then. I helped drive a herd of One Thousand Texas longhorn steers from Ln-ar to the Bar-T Ranch. I remember we had quite a time finding water for such a herd as the only water to be had was in the lagoons. It took us about ten days to make the trip. Our supplies at that time was brought from Bird City, Ks. We made about two trips a year so always got enough to last awhile. We were always fearful of prairie fires for the prairie was always so dry. I well remember one fire that came in from the north and burned elear down to the river. We had such hard working keeping it away from our hay stacks and we ruined a good team of horses plowing fire guards to turn it. My father was elected County Assessor in 1902 and I helped him for awhile in the office. I think my family was 4mong the earliest settlers here. But father having the mail contract gave us money to live on and we did She was a member of the Christian Church in Burlington in 1896 and later moved her membership to the Seven Day Adventist church at Stratton. She died October 22, 1929. Sherman Henry Yale died in 1922. by Marlyn llasart YARNELL FAMILY F785 I was born in Shelby County, Illinois, on July 19, 1873, and when eleven years of age came with my parents to Nebraska in a covered wagon. Father came to Colorado in the spring of 1888, and took a homestead and in the fall of the same year my two brothersin-law, V.H. Chandler and James Sparks, built a sod house on the claim and in the spring of 1889, we went to Haigler, Neb., by train, and there bought a wagon, five head of horses, three cows, and a calf, four hogs, and two dozen chickens. and came overland to Burlington, Colorado. We went at once to the sod house prepared for us, and soon got settled in our new home. Water was hauled from Lostman's Creek. about four and onehalf miles away, for about a year. Then we dug a well 130 feet deep and got 16 feet of water, which was hauled up by a windlass until we got a windmill. We did little farming, but could not make a living by doing this, so I did whatever work I could find to help the family. I hauled hay, plowed tree claims, helped run a threshing machine, did whatever I could. I remember the first Fourth of July Celebration I ever attended in Burlington; there was dancing, horse-racing, (I had a pony in the pony race) and it won and I got a prize of $3.00. This little pony had been caught on the prairie by Jim Sparks, and was about a year old that spring, the prettiest little thing I ever saw. There was a big tent Charles Albert Yersin was born in Switzerland in 1847 and came to America with his parents when he was four years old and settled in Missouri. He lived with his uncle, Henry Yersin, who allowed him to go to school "when the work on the farm was done," hence did not get much education. But by studying at home he fitted himself for a teacher. He came to Colorado, accompanied by his father-in-law, in October of 1886 with his wife and three children by way of the Union Pacific railroad to Cheyenne Wells and then by wagon and team to Burlington, Colo. After receiving a permit to teach on trail he taught school in a one room sod building for several years. After studying day and night he received certification to teach the first grade. And in 1870 he was ordained a Christian minister of the Gospel and at times was the only minister in the county who could perform a marriage service. On July 29, LgI4 he married his son W.H. Yersin to Alta B. Schaeffer of Montpelier, Ohio who came to Bethune in 1909 to teach school. W.H. Yersin opened a combination general store post office on Sept. 19th, 1910 in Bethune, Colorado. The Yersins homesteaded north of Bethune. Colo. after their marriage and in 1914 purchased the Red Front Market in Burlington, Colo. On Nov. 15th, 1916 Alta B. Yersin gave birth to a son, William Yersin, who through boyhood attended school in Burlington and after graduation received his degree from Denver University and New Mexico University in anthropology. William later went on to serve in the Colorado legislature from 1948 to 1952 and in 1948 married Naomi R. Thompson of Denver, Colo. William and Naomi had a son, Kenneth Yersin. Kenneth Yersin, aftcr attending Burlington Schools, married Della K. Webb in 1959. Of this marriage were born two sons Lincoln B. Yersin and Sullivan A. Yersin. put up on the corner where the Standish Drug is located, and that is where the dancing took place. It was a popular corner. I forgot what music they had, but am sure there was a Kenneth Yersin joined the family business in fiddler present. and attended Metro State College in Denver, Colo. graduating in 1985 with a degree in Business Administration. Sullivan A. Yersin received his grade and The year 1894 was a bad year, so dry that no crops or feed was raised anywhere, so we moved to Burlington and mother operated the old "Burlington Hotel", then located on the west side of Main Street. In 1899, I built a livery barn, and ran it till 1902 and then I traded it for the old Montezuma Hotel, and since that time I have been engaged in the hotel and restaurant business. The old barn still stands on the same location. and is the only feed barn in Burlington. I built the new Burlington Hotel, and several houses here; I have seen Burlington grow from a few little houses to the nicest little tov"n in Eastern Colo. Now in Jan. 29, 1934, many have come and gone but us 1960. Lincoln B. Yersin received his grade and high school educations at Burlington, Colo. high school educations in the Burlington School system. He attended Colorado Institute of Art in Denver, Colo. and will receive his degree in Photography in 1988. by Ken Yersin �YERSIN, CHARLES ALBERT w87 Born 1847 in Switzerland. Came to Missouri with parents when four years old. Lived with a uncle who allowed him to go to school "when the work on the farm was done" hence his education was limited. but by studying at home he fitted himself for teaching. Came to Colorado in October, 1888, with his wife and three children. Came by Union Pacific railroad to Cheyenne Wells, then the next morning hired a man with a small wagon and tea- of ponies to drive the forty miles across country to their new home on the plains. They brought with them clothing, bedding, cooking utensils, and about a thousand pounds of pork, for they butchered five or six hogs before leaving Missouri. He always liked plenty of meat at every meal. The road was heavy and the weather was threatening and at that time there were but two houses on the forty mile trip. At the six-mile house we got our first sight of the prairie dogs and snow birds, about the only living things we saw on the lonesome road. No trees, fences, not even grain of any kind. It seemed a most desolate and dreary land. We wished we were back in Missouri and had we been at the depot, we would have been tempted to take I had taught one short term of school and never expected to teach again but when crops failed year after year, and one of our horses wandered out of the barn one stormy night and died in the cold, we wondered just how we were to live. So I got out my books and spent some time studying and then got a ponies were becoming very tired and we did not want to be out on the prairie if they became unable to travel on. When we reached this house the owner informed us that he did not keep a hotel and could not take us in. Then he told us of a settler who had built a long sod house about two miles northeast of the "half-way house" and that he had plenty ofroom and he would take care ofus. Though it was getting very cold and storm clouds were threatening us, we had to drive over a rough, hilly route, the hardest part of the trip. However, we made it just as a regular blizzard struck us in all it.s fury. The owners of the home came out and welcomed us and took us in for the night. The sod house was thirty-five feet long and twelve feet wide, and was divided in the center by a canvas cover, one end ofthe house being used by the women and the other by the men. We all slept comfortably and well. The next morning the storm had abated and although it was very cold, we started for our homestead on the SW% of Sec. 19-9-44. This was eight miles away and by piling our boxes in the front end of the wagon to form a windbreak for my wife and children, we got through without anyone freezing. My father-in-law, Mr. Reed, who had accompanied us from Missouri, had taken a Yersin. by Ken Yersin permit to teach. The school was a sod building some ten miles southeast of our home. I took a supply of "grub" and some bedding and moved into the two roomed building, using the one room as a living room and the other as a school room. Teaching during the day and studying half the night, I completed four month term. I little later I got my First Grade Certificate and after that taught two or three terms in the county. I was ordained a Christian minister on the Gospel in 1870 and have been at times the only minister in the County who could perform a marriage service. I have driven many miles over the prairie in a lumber wagon to preach, to perform a maniage ceremony, or to speak the last words over the dead. I am proud of Kit Carson County and proud of Burlington, which I have helped to build. I have been here since I heard the first bell ring on the first engine of the first Rock Island train through Burlington. by Jayne Hubbell the first train east. The weather continued threatening and we discussed the possibility ofstaying over night at the "half-way house" for it seemed that the He died in January of 1980 survived by his wife, Teddy, his son, Kenneth and his wife Della; two grandsons, Lincoln and Sullivan YERSIN, \M. H. F788 William H. Yersin was born in 1916 in Burlington, Colo. where he attended grade school and high school. He received his college education at Denver University and the University of New Mexico where he majored in anthropology. At the onset of World War II he enlisted in the army and YOCUM, JESSE FAMILY Jesse Yocum started railroading ofthe age of 15 years in 1894. He was in Colorado Springs when Manitou and Colorado City were separate places, with the railroad as telegrapher and agent. He worked in many stations in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa. Jesse and Gertrude Page were wed November 9, 1902 and were located in Almena, at the time of their marriage. They transferred to Flagler in 1916 accompanied by their sons, Edwin Laclede, and Howard Page. Jesse retired in 1937 after 57 years of service. He passed away August of 1948. Gertrude died in January of 1952. The boys attended grade school and graduated from high school in due time. LaClede went to work for the Flagler First National Bank and served as an officer and director most of 52 years, retiring in 1975. Howard attended Colorado University as a civil engineer. He was associated in Utah Construction International as consulting engineer. Howard passed away September 1976 in Burlingame, Calif. by Betty Yocum YONTS AND served four years. Upon his return from the service he became involved in the family grocery business. In 1948 he was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives F789 SAWHILL FAMILIES F790 where he served three terms in the House and was minority leader of the House during his last two terms. In 1956. he was elected to the Burlington City Council and served two twoyear terms. In 1968 he was elected mayor of Burlington for a two year term, and then served for eight continuous years on the city council again. In addition to his municipal duties, Bill was a member at one time of the Colorado State Parks Board and belonged to the volunteer fire department, VFW, Chamber of Commerce, Masons, Izaak Walton League and the Burlington Housing Authority. Bill carried on a family tradition started by his father of planting trees, and might have been called the "Johnny Appleseed" of Zella, Lester, Everett and Kieth Younts, Christmas Day 1971. eastern Colorado. His hobbies were anthropology, geology Africa. In the early 1800's five brothers came to America from Switzerland. The name was spelled with 4 "2". The five brothers changed the "z" to "s". Any "Yonts" spelled with an "s" is related some way. My father, Wythe Yonts was a relative of one of the five brothers. He married Lydia Codner in Phillip's County, Kansas in the late 1800's. Their He was married in 1949 to Naomi "Teddy" Yersin at the First Baptist Church in Denver, Colo. while serving in the state legislature in Blonnie, Ruth, and Lester. My parents homesteaded on a farm in Logan county, homestead just across the road from where we and lapidary. He had one of the largest and located so we lived in their sod house until ours was built. We hauled water from the nearest neighbor's home. Later we tried to dig a well on this land, but found it impossible owing to the innumerable small boulders and sandy condition of the soil. All wells were dug by hand in those days, which often proved difficult and costly. Later a well dug on my father-in-law's claim, furnished both families best private collections of Indian artifacts with plenty of water. 1948. and anthropological items in the area. He was familiar with all the digs in the area and during his four-year stint in the service had the opportunity to search for artifacts in children were Claude, Blanche, Bessie, Mae, Kansas near Russell Springs in 1906. We �people drowned two and one-half miles west Gesners. Their house was of Seibert - Themiles washed to three north of Seibert on to the Sawhill place. Mrs. Gesner's body was found down in Nebraska and his was found north of Stratton. In the same flood another home, owned by Roy Minter, four miles south Lester and Zella Younts Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary, Dec. 17,1977. Taken at Vona Liona Hall at their Open House. lived in a sod house until the C K & O Railroad came through and built the Logansport Depot near the homestead. My folks and one-half east of Seibert on the Republican River bank, the bank was washed away and the house floated out into the middle of the river and was left standing in the middle ofthe channel when the water went down, the people living there escaped to safety. by Lester Yonts ZIEGLER - BOEPPLE FAMILY ran the depot and post office and lived in the depot. I was eleven years old when we moved to Colorado in 1917. My mother and I came F79r by train and my father in a wagon. He brought the horses and furniture. We lived in a one room cement house the first year nine miles north and one-half east of Vona. Then we moved two miles west and one mile south of Vona. We raised corn and feed, milked Neely and Martha (Weaver) Sawhill until 1942 when we bought the farm ten miles north of Von a. Zella remained on the farm as long as she was able. She passed away Dec. 25, 1981. I still live on the farm. Our son, Keith Marion Yonts married Bernice Jane Redmond of Chicago, Illinois Oct. 15, 1956. They have one son, Keith Marion Yonts, Jr. Our son, Everet Lee Yonts married Carol Breen of Bismark, North Dakota Nov. 25, 1960. They have one daughter, Tracy Lee Yonts. There was a flood in (I think) 1935 that pushed the rails and ties off a twenty foot grade of the Rock Island west of Vona. Ten inches of rain fell overnight. There were three Richard, born in 1898, migrated to eastern Colo. by train and homesteaded in the socalled Russian-German Settlement, north of Bethune. They lived in with the Martin Stahlecker family until they had a building put up to live in. Not fully satisfied, in 1903, they moved to Oklahoma, near Covington, where some of my mother's family had moved to after living a short while in Tennessee and then had moved to Okla. also. After a year there, my parents returned to their home- were wheat, corn, oats, barley and some dryland alfalfa. In later years, we also raised 1927. Denver and I worked at construction work My father's parents remained on their farm, or homestead near Scotland until their deaths. Their home was made of adobe, a long building with mud floors, a grainery, horse barn, and a cattle shed, all under one roof, of which much of it is still standing. My parents worked and farmed in the Scotland area with my father's parents. I remember my mother saying that she sewed the suits for the men folks of the family and other clothing. In April 1899 the Zieglers, with a small son, (Mrs. Albert Strobel), Otto, Fred, the twins, Emma and Elma, (Mrs. Art Dobler and Mrs. Ralph Stahlecker), and Esther, (Mrs. Carl Arends). Richard died from a stationary engine accident, age 19, and Clara drowned, at the age of 6 years, when my mother and the three smallest children were returning from a visit in Okla. via train. There had been a cloudburst near Belleville, Kan. In the dark of the night, as this train came to this place, the train bridge was washed out, they tried to stop, but many of the train cars went down in, Many passengers were drowned including my little sister at the age of 6 years. My parents had a family of 8 to support, but when us kids were old enough to work, they kept us all busy. Dad and the boys did the farming with the horses; the various crops a new school house, depot, five stores, five cream stations, hardware store, two hotels, three garages, livery barn blacksmith shop, three filling stations, post office, two elevators, lumber yard, bank, real estate office, and two churches. For recreation there was Sunday picnics when everyone took pot luck lunches and made ice cream from the ingredients donated by the different ones. Everyone ate together and played games of baseball, horse shoe, and crocket. I, Lester George Yonts, and Zella Irene Sawhill, daughter of Neely and Martha Sawhill, were married in Burlington Dec. 17, during the dust storm years. We went to 50th and 60th anniversary celebrations. stead near Bethune again, where I, Anna was born in 1911. Here the rest of the family were born and raised; there were: Bill, Clara, Lena, cows and sold cream and raised chickens and sold eggs and raised a garden. Vona was a good town when we ceme with married Feb. 8, 1878 came from Iowa in 1906 and homesteaded three miles north of Seibert on the Republican River. Their children were Bert, Maggie, Lena, Ben, Lawrence, Reva, and Zella. The latter four came to Colorado with their parents and graduated from the Seibert school. The Sawhills farmed, milked cows, and raised several hundred chickens and sold eggs. Zella and I had three children: Eldon, Keith, and Everet. Eldon died in 1939 of paralda hyde poisoning at the age of eleven years. We resided in the Vona communities most of our married life except in the 1930's marriage. They were blessed with a long wedded life of 68 years. Highlights were their some hogs and cattle. Mom and the girls hand-milked as many as 25 cows, separated the milk and bucket fed the calves, raised chickens, ducks and geese, always had a large garden and with not much running water, John and Christina Zeigler on their farm in the 1940's. My parents, John Ziegler and Christina Boepple, were both born in Dennivitz, Russia; my father, Aug. 20, L872, my mother on Jan. 14, 1876. Both came to America with their parents; my father and his parents, William and Barbara (Friedrich) Ziegler in May of 1877, at the age of 5 years; my mother and her parents, Christian and Johanna (Kramer) Boepple, in the fall of 1876, at the age of 1 year. Both families settled on farms near Scotland, S.D. (Dakota Territory), where they grew up and spent their youth, and here they met and were given christian training through their church and family homes. Both were baptized in the Lutheran faith as infants. They were also confirmed in the Lutheran Church in Scotland; my father, April 3, 1887, my mother on March 30, 1890. In Nov. 14, 1895, they were united in Dad built a two-wheeled barrel cart with which we hauled the water to the garden. We sold the cream and eggs and that was my mother's money to feed and clothe the family. I must say, she managed quite well. For meat, they did their own butchering, mostly pork, cured the bacon and hams, fryed the other meat and put it in a crock and covered it with the rendered lard and kept it in a dug out cellar. Poultry was dressed as they were used. Mother baked the bread, sewed most of the clothes and she was always busy knitting mittens and stockings for the smaller children. All of us children received our education in the one-room "IJnion School" of 8 grades. We usually walked the 2/z miles to and from school, unless it was bad weather, then they took us by horse and wagon and later by car, which was not very often. For entertainment the various country schools took turns of inviting another school in on Friday afternoons for baseball games, cypher down contests, (spelling and arithmetic), etc. Box suppers and literaries with all the family attending were always fun. On Sunday we �l::.irlu. -, -' John Zeigler and daughter Esther Zeigler standing on a 7'high wooden windbreak by the cow shed in corral on the Zeieler farm. This windbreak is covered with dirt from the dust storms of the 1930's. always attended Sunday School and Worship services at Immanuel Lutheran Church in the Settlement. My parents were the first to have electric lights in the Settlement; also were among the first for running water in the house. Most of the houses in the Settlement were made of Adobe. In 1935, after enduring several of the "Dust Bowl" years, my parents had a farm auction and sold out. but retained the land and went to Oregon and Washington, worked in various fruit and hop harvests for a short time, along with the four younger ones of the family and my two married brothers and their families, Bill and Otto. Once again they returned to the family farm near Bethune (no place like home). In 1950, when all their children had married and on their own, they moved to Burlington, Colo. and my younger brother Fred continued farming the home place. In 1933, I married Emil Strobel who lived on a farm 5 miles north of my folks; he inherited the home place from his parents, which was also his birthplace and their homestead. We lived and farmed there until ZOOK, JONATHAN S. February 6, 1876 AND BARBARA REBER Jonathan and Barbara Zook's wedding picture, F792 name "Zook" was originally spelled "Zug" and that Jonathan's ancestor, Motitz Zug. immigrated from Germany and arrive in Philadelphia on September 2t, 1742. Jonathan and Barbara Zook were married February 6, 1876. In 1885, they took up residence in Nebraska and three years Iater moved in a covered wagon to Thurman, Washington County, Colorado, and established their "homestead". To this union were born two sons and seven daughters. Their second youngest daughter, Fanny (Faye Pangborn Ferguson), was born April 14, 1895, Barbara Reber was born April 23, 1856, in Johnson County, Iowa. She was the third child. Her father, John Reber, was of Swiss descent and was born in France in 1819. The family was Amish Mennonite. John Reber was an ordained minister. by Mrs. William E. Pangborn in Thurman and at this writing is the only surviving child. At the age of 92, she currently resides in Grace Manor Nursing Home in Burlington, Colorado. Jonathan S. Zook was born September 12, 1847, in Belleville, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, and died on his 87th birthday, Septem- FAMILY STORY PICTURE SECTION F793 ber 12. 1934. The records reflect that the our son Leland was married in 1982. Then we moved to another farm house of Lelands, just 1% miles away and let him have the whole works there, farm, debts, work and all, and retired. This was the only move we had in our 53 years of married life, and Emil in his lifetime, outside of a few years in Burlington, Colo. to get our three children a high school education. Besides a son Leland, we have 2 daughters, Florence Scott, and Julia Liufau, 6 grandchildren, and 6 great grandchildren. My parents lived to the age of, father 98, mother 87. My mother's funeral was the day that President John Kennedy was assassinated. A sad day, but looking back over the years, I must say God's blessings were numerous, E:, 1 _:;.: "-: .:_i: :, :- by Anna M. Strobel The Zook homestead. Jonathan Zook is pictured left ofthe well. In the background is their sod home and the milk house. �Lisa 2, Kathleen 3, and Christina 4 are daughters of Tony and Susie Paintin and granddaughters of Garold and Jean Paintin. Lisa's dress was made by her maternal grandmother, Ruth Knodel. Borders family, three generations. Standing: Donald and Wesley; seated: Floyd, Rebecca, Shannon, and Dick Borders. George W. Blancken Sr., Helen, George W. Jr., Harriet, Madge, Richard, Velma, Eunice, Nona and Minnie E. Blancken, 1950. ['[.ay 24, 1959 Joe and Edna Doughty at Colby, Kansas. George W. Blancken Sr. (middle) and sons George Jr. (left) and Richard (right), July 1959. �:a:.a ;::t: & ,&3 w & :ry r,.::..at:-aa.:.. ''i" w .,i Wg 'aa:a: tq !f! li:t,l;.. W, raa *t#t .r .a ,ln ;t;a. ....,a tt:.: { t*t 1J ft t,;::1.,&&: ,,;:,.:..,' George William Blancken holding pictures of his parents and grandparents, June 1980. George, Dad Blancken, John Nordine, Mom Blancken and Arthur K., sons of Velma Blancken Nordine, July 19, 1962. Dietrick F. Blancken, George W. Blancken Sr., daughter Madge C. Blancken Martin holding first grandchild, LaVern Delmar Martin, 1942. William McGlinchey Wickham and Susie Alberta Brisbin married December 25, 1896. Mabel Walters Hudson Parke standing in front of her home in Burlington. Many of her family keepsakes and furniture are on display at "OId Town." 3iY w 9' {fr William Scott, age 10 months, and Julie Marie Cranmer, age 2, are children of David and Marilyn Cranmer and grandchildren of Garold and Jean Paintin. The rocking chair is over 100 years old and belonged to their maternal great-great grandmother, Carrie Mae Mast. Avirene and Bill Henry, 1970 at Disneyland � 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 History of Kit Carson County Description An account of the resource Brief historical stories and elements from the founding and recent history 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- X, Y, & Z Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1988 Description An account of the resource Brief histories of Kit Carson County founding families whose names begin with, "X," "Y" and "Z." As found 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 Kit Carson County History Biographies 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/11/728/00000001.jpg 99788493ba9bfa474291dba2aa0c60a2 https://kccarchives.cvlcollections.org/files/original/11/728/William_Abbott.jpg bc959825e668775c9e479e32c4e213f1 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 Obituaries Pre-1930's Description An account of the resource Obituaries from before the 1930's for 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. 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 Obituaries for William Abbot and Arthur Buchanan Description An account of the resource An obituary for William Abbot and Arthur Buchanan as taken from the Burlington newspaper 1906 and 1912. Subject The topic of the resource Abbot, William 1827-1906 Buchanan, Arthur 1873-1912 Obituary Genealogy Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/ Type The nature or genre of the resource text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Burlington Record Language A language of the resource English Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Obituaries Pre-1930's Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Text/JPG https://kccarchives.cvlcollections.org/files/original/11/729/00000002.jpg 1ca774c43c95960c26fe0850586a335d 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 Obituaries Pre-1930's Description An account of the resource Obituaries from before the 1930's for 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. 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 Obituary for Clarabell Borton Description An account of the resource An obituary for Clarabell Borton as taken from the Burlington newspaper in 1915. Subject The topic of the resource Borton, Clarabell 1860-1915 Obituary Genealogy Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ Type The nature or genre of the resource text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Burlington Record Language A language of the resource English Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Obituaries Pre-1930's Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Text/JPG https://kccarchives.cvlcollections.org/files/original/11/730/00000003.jpg 22203847c3fd5e781e090100b962cb9d https://kccarchives.cvlcollections.org/files/original/11/730/kccrecordobits0031.jpg 1dfb68404c43c84d9ec754154a53db06 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 Obituaries Pre-1930's Description An account of the resource Obituaries from before the 1930's for 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. 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 Obituary for John J. Pugh Description An account of the resource An obituary for John Pugh as taken from the Burlington newspaper and the Kit Carson County Record in 1913. Subject The topic of the resource Pugh, John 1856-1913 Obituary Genealogy Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ Type The nature or genre of the resource text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Burlington Record and the Kit Carson County Record Language A language of the resource English Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Obituaries Pre-1930's Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Text/JPG Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1913 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Burlington Record and the Kit Carson County Record https://kccarchives.cvlcollections.org/files/original/11/731/00000004.jpg 4165c27e94f2509403e195cd9a72ab72 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 Obituaries Pre-1930's Description An account of the resource Obituaries from before the 1930's for 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. 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 Obituary for William McNeill Description An account of the resource An obituary for William McNeill as taken from the Jamesport Gazette, Jamesport MO. Subject The topic of the resource McNell, William 1871-1915 Obituary Genealogy Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ Type The nature or genre of the resource text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Burlington Record Language A language of the resource English Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Obituaries Pre-1930's Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Text/JPG https://kccarchives.cvlcollections.org/files/original/11/732/00000005.jpg 3ab9dc7c6f8e6392ca006f9ee8b947f7 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 Obituaries Pre-1930's Description An account of the resource Obituaries from before the 1930's for 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. 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 Obituaries for Jacob Scherrer and Elizabeth Chandler Description An account of the resource An obituary for Jacob Scherrer and Elizabeth Chandler as taken from the Burlington newspaper in 1918 and 1920. Subject The topic of the resource Scherrer, Jacob 1838-1918 Chandler, Elizabeth 1861-1920 Obituary Genealogy Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/ Type The nature or genre of the resource text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Burlington Record Language A language of the resource English Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Obituaries Pre-1930's Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Text/JPG https://kccarchives.cvlcollections.org/files/original/11/733/W.H._Hargis.jpg 3376528d0f95c27b77ead6e070c572e2 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 Obituaries Pre-1930's Description An account of the resource Obituaries from before the 1930's for 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. 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 Obituaries for W. H. Hargis, John Stott, Emilie Brown and E. C. Lloyd Description An account of the resource An obituary for W. H. Harris, John Stott, Emilie Brown and E. C. Lloyd as taken from the Burlington newspaper in 1923, 1926 and 1959. Subject The topic of the resource Hargis, W. H. 1847-1923 Stott, John 1850-1926 Brown, Emilie 1862-1926 Lloyd, E. C. ????-1959 Obituary Genealogy Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ Type The nature or genre of the resource text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Burlington Record Language A language of the resource English Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Obituaries Pre-1930's Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Text/JPG