-
https://kccarchives.cvlcollections.org/files/original/16/410/Communities.pdf
c3ec650a1cea05ad93d3aef705dd8b45
PDF Text
Text
BETHEL SOD SCHOOL
AND COMMUNITY
BUILDING
T400
The first Bethel school house and commu-
nity building was built some time around
1908. This was a one room sod house located
between the Henry Wilson homestead (now
the Ed Herndon home) and the Albert Clint
homestead. This school had ten to twelve
pupils. Some drove a horse and buggy to
school and some walked to school. Elmer and
Jim Howard walked four miles and Merna
and Cecil Coad cnme several miles. The Bert
Wilson children came three miles to school.
Mary and Claude Kelly walked from the
In later years some families got Model T
put
cars. In freezing weather a low bucket was
under the radiator to drain out the water. It
was then taken into the school house and set
beside the stove to keep warm. It was put
back into the radiator when Sunday School
was over. The men usually put the radiator
petcock in their coat pocket - this didn't dare
get lost. At night, if the car lights went out,
a kerosene lantern was wired onto the
radiator cap. We drove home by this light. If
a Model T wouldn't start, folks pushed it
down the slope east of the school house. This
worked pretty good. The Model T had a hand
crank.
Thru the years people moved away from
the Bethel community and in 1950 the school
children were taken by bus into Stratton to
school.
Hamilton place. This place was one half mile
west of the present Vena Scheierman ranch.
R.O. Hoover lived one half mile west of the
Hamilton place. Charlotta and Ruth Hoover
walked two miles to school.
Some of the first Bethel teachers were Shek
McConnell, Ella Rhen, Miss Hopkins, Miss
Troup and Dora Jean Baird Dunkle. The
teachers salaries started at $20.00 a month
and the teacher paid about $5.00 a month to
some neighbor who lived close to the school
for board and room and the lunch they
carried to school. Later salaries increased to
$30.00 a month, then $50.00 and in 1923-24
Loren Smith received $90.00 a month. This
was at West Bethel. Later in 1929 the wage
was $100.00 a month.
Sunday School and church services were
held in the Bethel sod school house. This was
a fine church made up of good people. There
were about 30 to 35 people. Various programs
were held in the sod school house. One nice
summer day a north wall had fallen down but
the people had Sunday School anyway. [t
seemed a strange and sad situation to me. I
was a small child at the time. Christmas
programs were
a highlight in our lives.
Someone would get a tree in Stratton and the
ladies unpacked trim and decorated the tree.
Some of those ornaments were simply beauti-
ful. People didn't have Christmas trees in
their homes. This community tree was "it."
Gifts, including our family gifts, were i,aken
by Vena Scheierman
HAPPY HOLLOW
COMMUNITY
T40l
Some recollections of the families living
around the Happy Hollow school District.
People of the community: Frank and Faye
Parmer lived about 3/t of a mile north with
family, Robert, Maxine (Teel), Ben and Don.
Sanford (Mick) Johnson lived about 1%
miles south with his brother Everett, and his
mother, who was mid-wife for families of the
A sister lived with them for
awhile with her two children, Irene and
community.
Frances Hanrahan.
Another family a little farther south and
west was the Charlie Rogers family who were
Charley, Cora and children, Ancel, Marion,
Elba, [van, and Zella. After they left the
community, they had another daughter Lois
(Breigel). Later on there was Bertha and Roy
Ettleman.
West of Happy Hollow was Mr. Charles
('Dad') Parmer and his wife "Aunt M*y,"
parents of Frank Parmer and Nellie Hender-
son. After "Dad" Parmer's death, Aunt
Mary's son, Bill Nye, and his two sons, Junior
and Stanley, came to live with her. Farther
to this party. Sacks of treats were given to
west along the snme road, lived Mr. and Mrs.
everyone. These contained homemade candy,
big red apples, peanuts and popcorn balls.
Leander Rogers and Elsie and Charlie Jr.
Henry and Ida Wilson and Garfield and
Pauline Wood always made huge batches of
candy. This included fudge, taffy, divinity,
and penuche.
Travel to the community activities
was
made in a horse drawn wagon or sled. We
heated big rocks to put on the wagon floor
with blankets to keep our feet warm. When
the wall fell down on the sod building, the
Sunday School and school were held at West
Bethel (L Yz mile west of the old sod
building). This was a new one room frame
building with
2
cloak rooms where we put our
lunch pails, overshoes and coats.
In
cold
weather we put our lunch buckets beside the
big coal stove. It was at this time the East
Bethel school was also built and those
children living close to it attended school
there. This was located 1 mile south and Vz
mile east of the Clarence Borden place (now
owned
by Wayne Iseman). Some of
the
teachers there were Mr. Sawhill, Mr. Patterson and Roy McCulloch.
(nephew of the Charlie Rogers who lived
southwest). Still farther west along that road
lived Walter and Helen (Miser) Clark and
north of them a little distance was Ellis and
Amy (Smith) Clark, who ran the store and
post office called Morris, Colorado. Their
children were: Verl, Ada, Lucille, Lola,
Bessie, Ethel, and Robert. Farther north
lived Dile and Nellie Henderson, with their
children Bessie (Morrow), Lela (Shumate),
and Faye (Milford), and Neva (Miser). Later,
after the family was grown and Nellie passed
away, Dile married Jennie Barnhart, a near
neighbor.
Northeast of Happy Hollow was Charlie
and Jennie Barnhart with their children:
Everett, Ira, Esther (Rhoades), Leonard,
Wilbur Dean, Pearl, and Marveline. Charlie
was killed in a threshing machine accident,
and his funeral was held in the Happy Hollow
School. Pearl died at the age of 11 or 12 of
cancer, the first known cancer of this commu-
nity.
South of Barnharts place was the family of
Elmer Hoar, whose son George attended the
Happy Hollow school for
a
year or two. Then,
the Hoar family moved away, and Earl and
Clara Smith moved here with their children,
Clarence, Verlin, and Lela. Earl and Nancy
Houghton and children, Hollie, Marie, and
Ivan also lived here. Farther east and north
was the homestead of Estes and Elizabeth
Straughn and family: Burrel, Warren, Robert, Estel (Quick), Mae (Morrow), Mildred
and Margaret. After the Straughns moved
into Burlington, Bert and Josie Smith and
children, Louise (Barnhart), Cora (Albertson), Sylvia (Weaver), and R.B. lived here.
Ed and Elva Bartman and family, Louise,
Wilford, Edna, Grace, Minnie, Edith and
Laurence lived 2Vz miles east of Happy
Hollow. Between the Bartmans and the
school was a place r/z mile south of the road
where Henry and Mable Tieman lived with
their children, Iva (Stevens) and Don. Later
they moved to the Beaver Valley community
and Hank's brother Charlie, and wife Jessie
lived on the place with Vera, Larry and
Norma. Farther south was Gwendolyn and
Bennie Jackson.
South
of the
Bartmans was the Jim
Rhoades homestead, where he and his wife
Myrtle raised their family: Harley, Lester,
Ruben, Clara (James), Walter, and Fern
(Cowan). After Jim's death, as a result of
scarlet fever, and after the family was grown,
Myrtle married Rell Morrow and lived on his
place.
There was a family of Trotters and Murphys who attended the school and lived on
the Roy Johnson Ranch. Harley and Eliah
Benge lived south of the school and their
niece Lucille Eagleburger attended school.
Their two children were Mary Lou (Seeloff)
and son, Sylvus. About 4 miles southwest was
the homestead of Myron Smith and his wife
Ruth. Kenneth attended school for 8 years.
Jeanette Smith (Stahlecker). When she was
in the 1st grade they came home from school
one night to find their mother dead of a heart
attack.
Other families north of the school were:
Mr. and Mrs. Sam Winfrey, Edgar,
Leo,
Nancy and Louiegene, and Collie and Grace
Teel, Emmett, Chester, Hazel, Sylvan and
Darlene. Some students from other dietricts
coming to take advantage ofthe 9th and l0th
grades were: Mabel and Lola Winfrey, Junior
Cody, Roy Lundvall, Doyle, Gene, and
Bonnie Morgan, Leroy and Naida Smith,
Velma Proehl, and Bill Kreoger.
by Edna Bartman Stahlecker
HOLLAND
SETTLEMENT
T402
The Holland Settlement was located 16
miles north of Vona. There were several
young and brave couples from Platte, South
Dakota who came and homesteaded on
claims. This area later became known as the
Elphis Community. They shipped their
belongings, a wagon, horses, and milk cows by
railroad to Vona and then made their way
north to their claims.
At first, they put up tents and dug wells.
By winter they had built shacks for barns.
One half of these barns were used for the
�In time some of them and their descendants
became professionals in education, business,
Christian ministry and mission, engineering,
livestock and the other half for their living
quarters. The next summer sod houses were
built.
Among these families were my parents
Jake and Lena Smit, a maiden sister, Anka
Smit, another sister, Trinity and Jim Brou-
wer, and still later, a brother, Henry Smit
joined them. Their land all bordered, making
the Smit Center Cemetery which still re-
architecture, journalism, music, government
and service industries.
Their ancestors were Swabians (descendants of the ancient Celts and cousins of the
Irish) who lived for centuries in the forests
&,
;l
and highlands of southern Germany. In
contrast to the Hessians and Prussians of
mains. Many other Holland families began to
homestead also. They started the Holland
Church.
In this community they formed the Brownwood School and a Brownwood Store, which
became a center for ball games on Saturdays.
These early pioneers had a very meager
life. There were no fences, no farm land or
equipment. Times did change and it became
a thriving community. Later the large wheat
farmers came in and bought up the farms,
took out the fences and removed the farm
buildings. The Holland Church now stands
south of I-70 in Vona as a machine shop. The
country store became a grainery. All the
homesteaders are now long time gone. There
is no longer a Holland Community.
by Lena Godfrey
SETTLEMENT
COMMUNITY
northern 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 culture. These creative. freedom
t'*:S $.
i*,,
r;{.:
Ioving people chafed under the increasing
restrictions and heavy taxation of the feudal
dukes and princes who controlled the lands
and forests. They were often pillaged, plundered and ravaged by invading French
armies, especially during the time of Napoleon.
Stacking wheat in a family affair at the Strobels.
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 Congrega-
T403
Life on our high plains has always been
rigorous and most early settlers were poor.
Yet by reason of their strong personal
relationship with God, their hard work and
frugality, and their rea.l sense of community
(neighbors helping neighbors), the people of
Friedensfeld (field of peace as the Settlement
tional churches. Most of them spoke English,
Swabian and High German until WW2. Our
forebearers 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 their churches. They
were many-talented farmers, ranchers, buil-
oasis of
ders. craftsmen. blacksmiths. and mechanics.
Part
was
1
first named) developed an
Catherine the Great, a German princess
married to Czar Peter III, became 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, untamed
steppes of southern Russia. Thousands of
Germans responded and in only four years
established 104 pioneer colonies along the
Volga. Catherine died in L792 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
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
possessions
of Beresina, and the Hasarts and Weisshaars
help found Lichtenthal.
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
;&
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 Amerika drew hundreds of thousands of Germans-from-Russia to the United
States from the early 1870's until the outbreak of World War I.
They began to leave inL872. Through 1886
to 1889 many of these people cnme to this
country by ship through the Black Sea, the
Mediterranean Sea and finally crossing the
Atlantic Ocean. Others went across country
to the northern ports boarding ships
and
crossing the north Atlantic. They left most of
their possessions behind along with family
and friends whom many were never to see or
correspond again. Their possessions that
were brought with them were put in bundles
and wooden trunks. These contained clothThe Andrew Baltzer farmstead east of Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1906.
ing, bedding, a few dishes, and a few personal
belongings. The trip took from two to three
weeks and was not an easy trip with many
�becoming ill.
answer to their prayers and hopes. With these
thoughts they left South Dakota and headed
with most arriving at New York City stopping
south and west. We will never know how they
pictured this country they were to live in but
They arrived at different ports of entry
at Ellis Island for
processing including
medical examinations. Others arrived at
they had heard of the small town of Bur-
Baltimore MD, Galveston, TX, and other
ports. Sometimes family members were ill
lington and knew there was land to be taken
up near it.
Burlington was a very young and promising
town as the railroad had just been completed
in 1888 making settlement possible. Bethune
was 7 miles to the west and it was north of
these towns that our immigrants came. The
soil was a sandy loem making it easier to plow
and till. With rainfall being scarce they felt
that this was the better place to settle. One
and temporarily held in isolation and later
joined their families. Because of the language
problem getting on their way west was
difficult. Many railroad agents were trying to
get the immigrants to sign work contracts
with them. The authorities helped these
people get on their way and were placed on
the correct trains sending them to their
really wonders what went through their
destinations.
minds as they struggled to make a living on
by Rev. Herbert Schaal and Marlyn
Hasart
SETTLEMENT
COMMUNITY
L. to R.: Gottlieb Stahlecker, Andrew Knodel, John
Stahlecker, Andrew Bauer, John Zeigler, and
Charlie Brenner in back, shearing sheep with hand
clippers.
T404
Part
2
On October 12, 1889 the following four
families, Christian Baltzer, Dorothea Baltzer,
Friedrich Stutz, and Andreas Bauer departed
from Russia for America. They went to
Scotland South Dakota with the intentions
of settling in Colorado. Other families arriv-
ing to make the trip to Colorado
were
Christian Dobler. Jakob Schaal. Christian
Strobel, August Adolf, Otto Winters, Mattias
Haefner and Mathis Schaal. They are the
known pioneers that were recalled by their
descendants and found in the records. They
left for eastern Colorado in the spring of 1890
by train and wagon. Others who came during
this time were the Schlichenmayers. The
Fanslaus, Bauders, and Jacobers arrived
before 1890 while the Kramers arrived about
1898.
Shocking feed on the Strobel farm.
We can feel the excitement that surrounded these families as they made their way to
their new homes. The Homestead Act was an
this Great American Desert. It was a very
meager and simple lifestyle that was ahead
of them.
Their first efforts were to open up the land
and plant crops and establish homes. These
homes were to be similar to the ones they left
on the steppes of Russia. They were to make
do with the materials present. Some of these
people made "dugouts." A hole was cleared
out of the hillside and they framed the
opening with lumber and had a door. Some
lived in their wagons that first summer. Most
of their homes were constructed of sod and
adobe. Adobe is a mixture of dark clay top
soil, chopped straw and water. They mixed
this up by stomping it with their feet and by
using the family horse. This mixture was
formed by hand to shape the base of the walls
and layer after layer was applied until the
walls were the right height. Some buildings
were made with rock using adobe as mortar.
The roof was covered with wooden planks
and then sod was placed on top to seal out the
weather. Some homes had wooden roofs.
These homes were small consisting of two or
three rooms with most having adobe floors.
As these German speaking settlers came
into the community establishing their homes
near each other they became known as the
"Settlement." We may ask, why did they
cling together in this land? There are several
answers. They had just left the closed
community that was home for many years
and felt comfort by settling closely. They had
all come from the same region and had a
common language, a similar if not a common
religion, and they were strangers in a hostile
land where they needed each other for
support and comfort. Without this help and
support they would have given up. Many had
to seek outside employment so that funds
could be raised so that they could send
passage money to the ones left behind.
'f..
tlt
Sometimes families came over at separate
times with the father and older boys coming
first, because of the sons being taken into the
armies, and the mother with the younger
children coming later. The large family units
were to help each other by providing funds
for transportation for those left in Russia.
It was a difficult time and by pulling
together to share a milk cow, a horse for
plowing, seed to plant, machinery to use and
a start of chickens they were able to survive.
It was known that there was only one gun in
the Settlement to be used by all. Even with
this love and cooperation some had to leave
the group to find employment and then
return and keep up their claim. This was a
The John Stahlecker farmstead (the Norman Meyer place now). The John Stahlecker and John Zeigler
families are pictured.
time ofstruggle and heartache as they sought
to establish a home on the plains.
One of the most difficult adjustments to be
�made was the coping with the climate and
extreme weather conditions of this region.
They had their first experience with severe
blizzards, hail storms, prairie fires (there
were lots of these), droughts, grasshopper
plagues, summer heat, dry air and dirt
storms. There were no streams close by so
water was hauled for months from the
Republican and Landsman rivers. If someone
had a well, many hauled water from there till
they could have their own well dug. The trees
for protection and shelter were absent. The
long hot days of summer with the bright sun
beating down to dry the crops and evaporate
the precious rainfall were factors that even
the strongest found difficult to bear. They
did find comfort in their cool adobe homes.
by Rev. Herbert Schaal and Marlyn
Hasart
SETTLEMENT
COMMUNITY
Part
T405
3
1883 was a dry year and crops were poor.
1894 brought a severe drought with a complete crop failure which caused many families
to leave. Some went to the area surrounding
Denver and some went back to South Dakota
where they had family. Some families were
near starvation when they left.
This year, 1892, more families moved into
the Settlement. They were Johann Wahl,
Martin Stahlecker and Samuel Schmidke
who came from Scotland, South Dakota and
Christian and Andrew Adolf from Russia. In
1895 a blizzard hit the area in the first part
of April. New settlers coming in 1899 were
Christian Gramm, Andreas Weber and John
Steamer tractor and wooden threshing machine bring memories of "good old days."
Zeigler.
In
with 10-12
people dying. There was a Dr. Gillette in
Burlington but he had not been summoned.
1901 diphtheria broke out
Most illnesses and births were attended to by
Mrs. Yale and Mrs. Adolf. In 1889 the Yale
post office was established in the community
at the Yale farm. Families arriving in 1901
were John and Joe Weisshaar, with Gottlob
and Herman Amman coming in 1902.
More families came in 1906 and 1907. They
were the Knodels, Johannes, Andreas, Jakob,
Gottlieb and the widow Knodel, Karl Weiss,
Johannes Weiss, Peter Kodel, Karoline
Schaal and Herman Stolz. The William Adolf
family came in 1908. The mother, Margaret
Adolf, was the community's midwife and
nurse for many years.
In 1909 the first mail route out of Bethune
went north. Mr. Ed Stahlecker was assistant
carrier. There were 20-25 families in the
Settlement by then.
The early 1900's was the time of getting
established, crops were gathered, homes
made permanent and the people were able to
see a permanence coming to the community.
So much of the labor of farming was provided
by man power those early days. The scythe
and threshing rock were first used to harvest
those few acres that were planted. Horses
were all important. Small grains were cut
down by horse drawn headers and put onto
barges with the family manning the pitch
forks loading it neatly in huge stacks. These
were made carefully so that they would shed
the rain and would not settle in the middle
as the crop could rot if water got into the
stack. The main crops were winter wheat and
corn. Later in the season the threshing
machines came to the farms and the wheat
was pitched into the machine and the grain
was caught and weighed in yz bushel measurements so that accurate count could be
maintained. The grain was stored in graineries for use on the farm and some sold for
cash. The straw was blown into huge piles and
was used for feed for the cattle. The community worked together as farming took lots of
man power to accomplish the tasks to be
done. Walking and other physical labor that
was required made for hardy individuals.
Other crops that were raised were oats, barley
and feed for the livestock. They kept animals
that could produce food for the table, mainly
milk cows, sheep and swine providing meat,
milk, wool, lard and soap. Fowls consisted of
chickens for meat and eggs, geese and ducks
for meat and feathers for bedding and corn
shucks and straw were used for mattress
filler.
The Fred Stutz farmetead about 1920, where the Milbert Beringer family now live.
Homemaking was a busy and difficult task.
Water was carried to the house and washing
was done bv hand. Cookine was simple at
first
�as their cooking was done on the earthen
ovens constructed of adobe. They could bake
their bread or simmer their meal in a kettle.
Later cast iron stoves were purchased using
fuel of corn cobs, cow chips, sage brush roots
and anything else that would burn. The table
was simple with long benches along the sides,
most furniture being made by hand. Their
trips to town were few with the father going
in to make all purchases for the family. Many
times the mother and children went to town
SMOKEY HILL
COMMUNITY
Story
once a year. Purchases were simple, flour was
60-?0 cents per 50 lbs., sugar, syrup
at
25
cents a pail, salt, coffee and other staples.
The first tractor was purchased in 1917 by
Frank Kramer. Approximately 15 men were
inducted into the service for World War I. We
see changes of transportation and the me-
of farming. The automobile
replaced the horse and buggy. New families
were the Meyers and the Hasarts.
The community was hurt by the events of
1929. Due to the stock market crash and the
closing of banks in Burlington and Bethune,
people suffered some severe losses. The loss
of their life savings left a permanent mark on
the community.
chanization
This farming region suffered through
many trials. One was the drastic drop of farm
commodity prices. In 1931 hogs sold for 7
cents a lb., corn was as low as 10 cents a bu.
and there was the destruction of farm animals
by order of the Department of Agriculture.
To make things harder was the drouth that
This beceme a time of decision and
many families left this area. In 1935 the
came.
churches lost more than 130 members due to
the drouth and resulting dust storms.
by Rev. Herbert Schaal and Marlyn
Hasart
SETTLEMENT
COMMUNITY
Jake Strobel planting potatoes,
their lives in this flood. The next winter was
mild and because conditions were bad great
plagues of grasshoppers came. They migrated
through the sky forming clouds. When they
landed they ate everything in sight covering
whole sides ofbuildings, eating fence posts as
well as everything green in their path.
Farming was a difficult profession at this
time. Horses were used although there were
many tractors in use. The hardships that
these people endured will never be forgotten.
A tremendous change came to the farming
community during the 1940's. The advancing
of modern farm equipment made farming a
little easier. Rubber tires on the tractors
made for greater comfort. The tractors
developed more horsepower so larger implements could be pulled allowing for the
farms to grow in size. The nation was at war
and the demand for foodstuffs was at
premium. This provided the area with
a
a
healthier financial base.
With the arrival of REA to the farming
community many modern changes were
made. Before this time many people had their
own electrical systems which were small and
unable to meet the needs of the times. With
good prices most were able to enjoy a fine
living standard and the farms were prosperous.
T406
Drilling wheat between the corn stalks, courtesy of
Emil Strobel.
Part 4
Some families were to return as conditions
were not easy elsewhere. Due to heavy rains
in eastern Colorado on May 30, 1935 there
was a great flood of the Republican River.
The fields and pastures were bare due to the
drouth and the rain washed the dry fields and
pastures causing permanent dnmage and
change to the Republican River flood plain.
Large numbers of livestock were lost along
with homes and barns. Several people lost
The first irrigation well was drilled in1952
on the John Schritter farm. After this many
wells were drilled which helped stabilize the
agricultural base of the community. The
early 1950's were drouth and dust bowl years
again. Very little wheat or feed was raised
during this period with people leaving the
farms again. Cattle herds were sold off due
to the lack of feed. Irrigation was used to
water crops and produce some feed allowing
for many farmers to hang on. The binder was
being replaced by the baler and newer and
larger tractors were seen on the farms. Self
propelled combines were a great help.
Now in 1988 this community is still making
its way with many of the descendants of those
first pioneers still remaining on the land. The
churches, Immanuel Lutheran and Hope
United Church of Christ, are still active
landmarking the endurance of this community. Although many new families now live in
this community, it is still referred to by many
If those first pioneers
could be with us now they would see that their
drenm of freedom and a home of their own
as the Settlement.
becnme
a reality in the presence of
this
community today.
by Rev. Ilerbert Schaal and Marlyn
Hasart
T407
I
One of the earliest records of information
about "North Smokey" that we found is a
newspaper clipping dating April 8, 1900. "A
pour down of water and thunder and lightning all last night. A bad dust storm struck
us on Tuesday, the 3rd, following by a
continuous three days' rain, said by the
"oldest inhabitant" to be the worst storm of
the kind in this vicinity. It drifted most of the
stock westward, men and ponies have been
busy on the hunt.
The Rogers boys have in a wheat crop and
intend to put in quite an acreage of broomcorn.
Mrs. Green Pearce left Sunday night for
Missouri, called there by the serious illness
of her father.
George Walters has taken a homestead on
Sand Creek and is putting down a well.
A baby cyclone passed through a narrow
strip of country on Monday afternoon, the
2nd. The attention of the Walters and Shaws
was directed by a terrible roaring to a blackas-night funnel-shaped cloud in the southwest. On it came very slowly, picking up all
thistles and sticks in its track, filling the air
as high as one could see. At Mr. Walters' it
picked up chicken coops, carrying them quite
a distance. From there, in its course northeast
to Mr. Shaws', it tore up two posts from every
fence. Mr. Shaw was burning weeds; it took
up a long row he had ready for lighting and
away they went sailing high. Although riding
through the air on thistles might be a rapid
conveyance east, Mrs. Shaw decided to wait
for a safer and surer one and took refuge in
the cafe. We do not know how far the cyclone
extended. We hope one of no great dimension
will visit
us.
Mr. and Mrs. Cluphf spent Sunday on their
son Frank's place.
Meadow larks and robins cheered us with
their presence during the storms.
the meanest kind of snowstorm came on
Tuesday.
G.L. Atwood of Watertown, Conn. was
visiting at Mr. Bassette's last week."
This gives us a bit of insight of life on the
prairies in those early days. Who would have
ever dreamed that in 1941 a tornado of
iminense power would come through this
community.
Until the 1930's life in this community
flourished. There was the usual fluctuation
of population changes and during the 20's
this community prospered as others did in
the county.
The 1930's brought many changes. So
many of the original families were forced to
leave their homes and farms. The circumstances were many as the financial loss of
these people due to the collapse of the Stock
Growers Bank and other banks in the area
caused a terrible loss as there was no money
to pay for food, taxes and other expenses. One
can not quite comprehend how one survives
without the income and cash resources on
which to draw. Upon that tragedy, compounding the trauma of the times, was the drouth
that came upon this area. Unable to raise any
�Burlington. The first Kit Carson county farm
to feel its effect was that of Henry Drager
where the windmill and chicken house were
demolished and machinery scattered to the
four winds. Further to the northeast, the
Chris Stahlecker farm was hit and the house
almost unroofed, the windmill head blown off
and the barn totally wrecked.
The Smokey Hill school building, one-half
Smokey Hill school house after the tornado, 1941. Left stands the remaining teacherage minus roof.
feed for the milk cows and other livestock
these farmers were forced to sell what they
could at prices that saw botto'm. One cannot
comprehend selling livestock at such low
prices unless you have lived through it. The
government came out and destroyed livestock which was a traumatic experience for
so many residents. After the drought came
the hoards of grasshoppers that devoured
acres of growing crops in their paths.
Late thirties brought on the beginning of
better times and with them came new people
back to the land. The community was again
group of close knit people of diverse
backgrounds but with a sense of community
a
ing is the newspaper account of the event.
"The most destructive tornado in
the
history of this section of the country swept
through southeastern Kit Carson County,
Colorado and Sherman County, Kansas.
Farm homes, schools, communications, in
fact, everything in the path of the tornado
was demolished, causing thousands of dollars
of loss in property damage. Miraculously, no
one was killed outright, and the number of
persons injured was small compared with the
size and fury of the storm.
It is believed the tornado was the same
storm which originally formed near Kit
Carson, about 50 miles southwest of here, and
that provided a base for the Smokey Hill
School, social gatherings, and the opening of
homes for entertainment. These activities
provided a base of commitment that has
finally blew itself out north of Goodland. In
the approximately 100 mile course of the
storm it destroyed or damaged numerous
bound these residents even today.
school houses.
Tragedy came
to this
community on
Sunday afternoon, June 8, 1941. The follow-
farm homes and out-buildings and two large
The storm traveled in a northeasterly
course, entering the county directly south of
north ofthe Stahlecker place, was next in line
and the large three-story concrete structure
was crumpled like an egg shell by the force
of the wind. The falling concrete walls piled
upon the roof of the garage which housed the
three school buses, almost flattening one of
these. The other two, although badly damaged, received less ofthe weight ofthe falling
concrete. Two teacherage houses and their
contents were totally destroyed and a third
house unroofed.
North of the Smokey Hill school, the storm
next destroyed the barn at the former Oliver
Olsen place. At the Henry Bassette place the
shingles were stripped from a chicken house
and the chimney was removed from the house
and deposited in the yard in perfect condition. The Harold Harrington place suffered
the loss of all buildings and a car ari well. A
windmill on the Gerald Snelling place was
torn down.
At the Geo. Blomendahl farm the only
thing left standing were the four walls of the
house. A large barn and all outbuildings were
swept clean, as well as the windmill and
practically all ofthe trees. Chas. Kaester lost
a gr€rnary and had a header barge blown
through the porch of the house.
Mrs. Gilford McCullough suffered a broken pelvic bone and possible internal injuries
when she was blown quite a distance from the
by the force of the wind which
destroyed their house and all outbuildings.
At the E.E. Harrington farm a large barn
was destroyed. Some damage was done at the
house
Frank Korbelik place but was slight in
comparison.
Crossing the state line into Kansas the
storm struck the Al Pralle farm about six
miles south of Kanorado, demolishing farm
buildings. On toward Ruleton the storm
swept and here claimed the second school
building as its victim. The $30,000 brick
school building at Ruleton was totally destroyed, as were also four residences, these
being the homes of T.G. Kaufman, Martin
Nelson, W.T. Ingram and Mrs. Laura Kernal.
These houses were occupied at the time of the
storm and although they were slmost destroyed, the several people occupying them
miraculously escaped.
On the highway northeast of Ruleton the
storm picked up a car occupied by Ted
McCall and Robert Sprinkle. The car,
a
Model A roadster, was wrecked to such an
it seemed impossible that the
occupants could survive. Sprinkle was driving and was thro\iln out of the car. McCall
was carried with the machine about a quarter
of a mile and both legs were badly broken. He
is recovering in a Goodland hospital.
The storm went on northeast to the Glen
Curry farm north of Goodland. Barns and
outbuildings at the Feaster, Jack Dawson,
John Shaver and Jnmes Chapp farms north
of Goodland were all badly dnmaged, but
none of the houses were blown down. The
extent that
storm apparently raised directly north of
Several people are looking over the school assessing the damage. Notice the gas pump on left side standing
undamaged.
Goodland and disappeared.
With all the destruction of property it
�seems miraculous that no lives were lost. At
the Chris Staklecker home which lost threefourths ofthe roof, the occupants were in that
part of the house which was spared. At the
Smokey Hill school, Mr. and Mrs. Delbert
Watson lived in the only house that was not
demolished. This house had the roof torn off
only L5 minutes after they had left for
Arapahoe.
The Geo. Blomendahl family were visiting
relatives in Burlington when their place was
swept away. Mrs. Gilford McCullough, although seriously injured, seems on the road
to recovery. At Ruleton the escape of the
dozen occupants in their homes is a miracle.
by Marlyn lfasart
SMOKEY HILL
COMMUNITY
T408
It is hoped the job can be completed by
noon. However, the Rotary Club suggests
everyone bring a lunch in case it is necessary
to continue work through the day. Wear
comfortable shoes and leather gloves.
Oddities of the Tornado
Torrential rain, four to five inches, fell in
some places, while at nearby farms no rain fell
whatever.
A slab of concrete about 4 x 6 feet was
found lying on a mirror, yet the mirror was
in perfect condition.
Grains of wheat and cane seed were found
imbedded in fence posts after the storm.
At one place a medicine cabinet was left
hanging on one of the walls, in perfect
condition, yet all its contents had been swept
out by the suction.
A small bank, which formerly occupied a
place on a dresser had been removed to a
chair nearby, the bank upright and a dollar
highway 51 (which is now highway 385). It
Hill Consolidated School, where buses picked up the
children. Dragers had four children, Evelyn,
Kenneth, June and Louis. Evelyn and Kenneth went to Smoky Hill School until they
reached l1th grade and then went to Burwas also 5 miles to the Smoky
lington to high school. High school was
discontinued at Smoky Hill in 1951, and then
in 1957 the entire school was consolidated
into Burlington. Henry was on the school
board for a number of years, and they lived
in that original home for 50 years. That has
to be quite a record! They celebrated their
50th wedding anniversary at the Trinity
Lutheran Church in 1978. They built a new
home in Burlington on Fay Street where they
continue to enjoy 12 grandchildren and 6
great grandchildren. They were one of the
families who did not leave when the bad times
came.
by Mrs. Ted Eberhart
bill which it had
contained was removed
through the small slot and was lying on the
floor, still neatly foldeo.
Straw and feed stalks driven into pieces of
SMOKEY HILL
COMMUNITY
wood.
A chicken, which was a victim of the storm,
was picked clean.
however.
- He did not survive,
An American flag which hung on a wall of
the Ruleton school house was found lodged
between the top of the wall and the ceiling,
so tightly held that its removal without
tearing was impossible.
Story
pump just a few
of this opportunity. This homestead was 16
miles south and two east of Burlington. It
consisted of 160 acres and a two room adobe
house. Years later, two other homesteaders,
John Murphy and Henry Fansleau built on
to that house.
In 1920 Alice married Vincent Daniel.
Vincent moved to her homestead. They had
And the glass bowl on
Organize Party to llelp Clean Up
Stricken Area
a gas
of a demolished farm home
far removed.
- all other articles
Shingles neatly picked from the top of a
chicken house. Otherwise the building was
shipshape.
The tornado which struck in the Smokey
Hill community on June 8, 1900 caused a very
difficult situation for people whose property
was destroyed. Nearby fields of grain and
fallow were covered with debris. Pieces of
lumber with nails and tin, etc., will be a
serious hazard
to tractor tires and other
hawesting equipment, unless removed before
fields are planted and harvested. Everyone
for whom it will be practical to help
by Marlyn llasart
SMOKEY HILL
COMMUNITY
T409
the people in Smokey Hill include: Burlington Rotary Club, Boy Scouts, Farm
Bureau, 4-H clubs, home demonstration
clubs, Grange, other groups, individual farmers and merchants. It is requested these
groups and individuals meet at the Smokey
Hill school house at 8:00 a.m. June 13.
Boy Scouts and 4-H club boys are requested to work under their leaders. The Smokey
Hill home demonstration club will provide
drinking water for the crews. Those who can
provide trucks should see Ted Backlund. The
crews will work from the Smokey Hill school
to the Chas. Kaestner farm.
A group of Kanorado, Kansas, people are
planning to start at the Harrington and
McMullough farms Friday morning and work
toward the Kaestner farm.
five children, two of which are deceased.
Elizabeth is married to Jack Cheslock and
they live in Oregon. Richard is married to
Vera Shade. They are retired and live in
Arriba, Colo. Joe is married to Mary Lou
Williams. They are retired and recently
moved to Holyoke, Colorado.
During the early years, they picked up their
mail and bought their groceries at a trading
post called Cole, Colorado. It was located two
miles east of the Millisack place.
is
requested to assist in removing debris from
grain fields and cultivatcd lands.
Organizations and groups who will assist
In 1917, Alice Sullivan came to Colorado
from Harmon, Illinois because of her asthma.
She was a school teacher and needed a home
and a job. Frank Kelly had a homestead and
he wanted to give it up. Alice took advantage
feet southwest of the snme building which
was not broken.
Dishpan still hanging on the kitchen wall
2
Story 3b
Children's merry-go-round immediately
north of the Smokey Hill school house which
was not even scratched.
Cleaning up after the storm.
T4lO
Story 3a
This is sort of a collection of stories of
Hill Community after the severe drouth in the early
thirties. During the drouth, many of the
original families moved away. It was impossible to get contributions from everybody, but
people who lived in the Smoky
this will be a pretty good sampling of the kind
of people from that period.
Henry and Flora Drager moved into a new
farm home in 1928, after they were married.
They had to live in the basement for several
weeks until the painting and varnishing was
completed.
One evening a lot of cars drove in and it was
the neighbors coming to charivari them. They
had brought lunch and spent the evening
getting acquainted. This home was located 5
miles south of the correction line, near
All of the kids went to the Smoky Hill
Schbol on the bus, through the tenth grade.
One teacher taught grades 1 through 4, and
another teacher taught 5 through 8. The 9th
and 10th were generally taught by the
principal.
Every fall after the watermelons were ripe,
the entire school would take their lunches
and go on a full day picnic down by the
Smoky. They would end the day by going to
the Stahlacker ranch (which was 1 mile south
of the school) for a big watermelon feed. This
was a custom much enjoyed for many years.
For entertainment, the kids used to
go
arrow head hunting. They went over on the
Hill," which was 1/z mile east of
Wayne Iseman's home. They would ride their
horses and spend most of the day hunting.
School mates of Mary Lou Daniels were
Helen Burk (Schierman), Joe Pillings and
Lucille Walstrom. Richard's classmates were
"Jones
�Bill and Betty Burk, Laurence Carlson, Jane
Walstrom and Marvin Butterfield.
and Gwen is still teaching third grade in the
by Bernice Eberhart
by Bernice Eberhart
school at Wray, Colorado.
were always a part of the community activi-
ties. They later went to work for Orville
Chapin on the farm and lived in
a
small house
on the place. They had another daughter
Kathy and returned to Goodland and Harvey
went to work on the railroad. Patty and
SMOKEY HILL
COMMUNITY
GWEN AND HUBERT
CRANMER
T4l1
Gwen and Hubert Cranmer were married
in St. Francis, Kansas in June of 1946 and
then moved to Smoky Hill to the teachers
apartments. Gwen taught the first four
grades and Hubert was employed by Ted
Eberhart on the farm.
a
Those apartments were rather crude with
dirt basement. They adopted two white cats
to keep the mice out and made the upstairs
as livable as possible. It was war time and
they were unable to buy a cook stove of any
kind, so they cooked with a little two hole oil
burner. Gwen said they must have lived on
love, and she is sure they couldn't do it now.
The term began with 23 children, and
Lonnie and Connie Eberhartwere both in her
room. Gwen was Bernice Eberhart's sister,
and they had a lot of interesting happenings.
The family had always called
it
Gwen
was never to be said at
school. One day Lonnie forgot and what an
embarassing slip that was.
It was really hard times for some families,
and there were times when school lunches
"Skinny," but
would be stolen. Gwen always saw to
they did not go without lunch.
In1947, Cliff and Bertha Hines moved into
more farm land and grass. They settled near
the Smoky and three of their four children
went to Smoky Hill School. When Marvel Lee
was in the eighth grade, they had a bingo
party. The road had recently been graded,
and it started to rain. It got so muddy and so
the ten people in their car were stalled all
night, until some one came by to help them.
You had better believe that it was a long
night, and will not soon be forgotten.
One Sunday Cliff and a friend and their
two sons went out to look for the cattle in the
pasture. They scared up a coyote and the
chase was on. Suddenly they were upon the
bank of the Smoky. They could not stop, so
they just stepped on he gas and flew over the
25 ft. bank and landed in the bottom of the
creek. The fan broke a hole in the radiator,
but otherwise, no damage. It turned out to be
the thrill of their lives.
by Bernice Eberhart
Bob Meyers and Lonnie Eberhart were
both first graders and Bob had been asking
his dad if he could go home and spend the
night with Lonnie. His dad told him that
SMOKEY HILL
COMMUNITY
some day when
The Cranmers moved back to Beecher
Island after school was out and took over
Gwen's parents farm. They thoroughly enjoyed their time at Smoky Hill and made a
lot of good friends.
Thev are still on the farm at Beecher Island
by Bernice Eberhart
T4t2
SMOKEY HILL
COMMUNITY
the Smoky Hill area because they needed
it that
it was nice weather, he could
go. So, Bob just waited for a nice day and
went. About ten o'clock Shorty Meyers was
out looking for Bob, and finally arrived at the
Ted Eberhart home. He really chewed that
boy out, but since it was a nice day, that is
what he had been waiting for. Bob got to
spend the rest of the night, but was warned
never to do it again. Dwight Wheatly from
Vernon, Colorado taught the upper grades,
and they all seemed to get along remarkably
well.
The community Sunday school was the
highlight of the week, and it brought many
of the parents together in a social gathering.
In the fall of L947 school was going well
when a terrific blizzard rolled in. There was
no way to clear the roads, so the buses could
not pick up the children. Hawey and Jane
Matthews and daughter Patty also lived in
those school apartments. Harvey was a bus
driver and they were the custodians at the
school. There was nothing they could do so
they slept late and then spent the afternoon
and evening playing cards. Harvey would get
up and say, "Oh no, not again!" They ended
up having about three weeks of make-up
which made for a late school term.
Connie Eberhart were going to be best friends
forever, but the move separated them.
T4l3
of
1945 Delbert and Inez
Richardson, and three daughters Carolyn 9,
Marsha 8 and Nadyne 5, moved from a farm
south of Ruleton Kansas to the Smoky Hill
Community. Inez said she thought they had
come to the jumping off place when they
came to the Smoky. There wasn't any bridge,
and the banks seemed awfully high. Two
sons,
spring
Bill and Tony
were born
in
this
community. Delbert was actively involved in
the Gun Club and the whole family participated in all of the other community affairs.
They moved into Burlington in 1951.
by Bernice Eberhart
SMOKEY HILL
COMMUNITY
E.L. (Shorty) Meyers
E.L. (Shorty) Meyers and Blanche Meyers
moved to the Smoky Hill area in 1945. They
Albert
Kirschmer and lived on the Byers place.
Robert, Joy and Norma were their three
children. Bob started to school with Edna
Bartman as his first teacher. In the fall of
1954 their house burned to the ground and
they moved to the Smith district. In 1955
came from Goodland, KS, to work for
they moved to the teacherage at Smoky
Hill
School where Shorty was custodian and
Blanche cooked. Both of them drove school
buses.
By this time they had three
more
children, Kay, Ron and Debbie.
After the school closed they moved to
Burlington where all of the children live,
except Joy Bowman, who lives in Littleton.
Shorty died in 1977. Blanche has continued
to work in a lot offood services, and lately has
been helping take care of grandchildren.
Delbert and Inez Richardson
In the
T4l6
T4t4
Jane and Harvey Matthews
Jane and Harvey Matthews were married
just before Hawey went to the service. After
Harvey returned they moved into the apartments at Smoky Hill and Harvey drove the
bus, and they were custodians. They had one
daughter Patty. That was in 1946, and they
by Bernice Eberhart
SMOKEY HILL
COMMUNITY
T416
Helen and Otis Metcalf came to Smoky
Hill to work for Orville Chapin. They came
from the Whatley Vacation Ranch, Breckenridge, Colo., so Dale could go to school. There
was also Carolyn and Dwight in the family.
They moved to Fort Scott Kansas to be close
to his elderly parents in 1952. Otis died in
1960 and Helen worked in the hospital. Dale
and Dwight both work in insurance and
Carolyn lives in Wichita.
by Mrs. Ted Eberhart
SMOKEY HILL
COMMUNITY
T4t7
Elder
Arnold and Susie Elder moved to the
Smoky Hill Community in 1911. They csme
by wagon driving a herd ofcattle taking them
7 days from Woodston, Kansas. They had 6
living children when they left in 1925. Arnold
�built the house owned by Leland Baney.
They have 2 small children buried in the
and Orville and Flo Chapin.
Burlington Cemetery.
Keith, Willard and Verawent tothe Smoky
Hill School. Lowell, deceased, Vinta and
Oren were the other members of this family.
Keith and Willard were teachers and Keith
Windscheffel, Fromong, and Lindsey fami-
played football with the St. Louis team in the
late 30's. He was inducted into the Kansas
Hall of Fame coaches in 1986. He taught
Others included McClelland,
lies. There were the Bloomendahl, Fanslaus,
Olsons, Bassette, Harrington, Kaestner, and
others, who were residents at the time of the
tornado that swept through the community
in
1941.
by Bernice Eberhart
wood working and coached football in the
Salina, Kansas schools for over 35 years.
Much of his time was spent working with
retarded and disturbed boys, teaching them
SPRING VALLEY
RANCH
woodworking. Both Arnold and Susie are
dead.
by Bernice Eberhart
SMOKEY HILL
COMMUNITY
T418
Lots of people were moving into the
had a gun club, stag parties, took fishing trips
together and the ladies organized the
Friendship Circle Extension Homemakers
Club. One of the projects of the club was to
purchase dishes for the school lunch room
when the hot lunch program was started.
Each mother took a turn at helping the cook
at the school, and it was a big improvement
-
for all concerned.
In May 1954, the Windscheffel home was
burned and they lost everything. The community families rallied around with love and
support, financially, emotionally and spiritually. How wonderful to have such friends!
They moved into one of the apartments at the
Smoky Hill School for 6 months until another
house could be moved onto the farm.
In the back of their minds they had thought
they would probably go back to California or
Oregon, but after the traumatic fire and the
loving support ofthese friends, they decided
to rebuild and stay put. They have never been
sorry for the decision. These people stick
T4l9
The history that we have of our first
"thick and thin"
and
remain to this day a very closely knit group.
Smoky Hill provided many good teachers
during the time that Phyllis and Gary
attended. Their favorites probably were
Gwen Cranmer, Hazel Fromong, Genevieve
Bell and John Robertson. There are many
fond memories of long lasting friendships.
There were other people who resided
within the community. Their stories are
longer and will be found in the Family Story
section (see Family Story Index). These
families were found at the activities of the
school as well as the Home Demonstration
Club, Gun Club, playing cards and all other
activities. These people and the activities
that they participated in were the fiber in
which the community created the bond of
family that made this community so rich in
the relationships that have continued
throughout the years. Some of the families
are the Ted Eberharts, Walstromm, Rainbolt, Baney, the Long, the Bells, Joe and
Goldie Williams, Hazel and LeRoy Morton,
our school district. In 1879, they came from
Boston, Massachusetts seeking a higher
altitude for their health.
They went into the stock raising business
describing the story ofthe country as was told
by Mr. E. McCrillis when they first came
here.
A little north of where the lower set of
buildings on the Spring Valley Ranch are
now, there was a small log house which was
built out of native cotton wood trees by two
brothers by the name of Ricks. These men
were cowboys and were line riding for a large
cattle rancher northeast on the Republican
River.
The McCrillises came up the Republican
River from Wayne, now called St. Francis,
Kansas, which was then a post office and mail
was carried on horse back on up the river to
different ranches.
They came to this log house owned by the
Ricks brothers. They brought their household belongings and settled there, engaged in
the stock-raising business and after the
Government survey had been made in 1881
and 1882, they all took claims on what is now
known as the Spring Valley Ranch along a
creek
with deep water holes and
to raise crops of different grains. Machinery
and general farm equipment being scarce, a
good deal of planting was done with a hoe,
after the ground had been broken. A good
deal of this first land plowing was done with
ox teams. But people were successful and
machinery and work horses were added, until
today it has changed into a good grain
producing country with nice farms and high
grade of livestock.
The first school house was built out of sod
and Mr. E. McCrillis was the first elected
school secretary, an office he held for fifteen
years. Mr. E. McCrillis who was the only one
left in the family, sold his ranch property
settlers in our neighborhood is the McCrillis
family. Mr. E. McCrillis, his brothers and
father came here and settled on what is now
known as the Spring Valley Ranch located in
community in the 1940's, and there were all
kinds of activities being organized. With the
help of Nick Jantzen a community Sunday
school was organized, helping to make the
community into one big family. The fellows
together through
Woods,
which was all in this school district. In 1908
he moved to Denver, Colorado where he died
in about 1922.
There are no historical places of great
importance in this neighborhood, except one
which is one mile east and one half mile south
of our south school house on the east side of
the creek. Here there is a large stone hill and
on top of this hill is a flat place where there
was at one time, a stone monument and a
grave. The grave is said to be an Indian grave.
This monument is now torn down. This hill
was called Indian Monument Hill by the first
settlers. One and a half miles south of the
south school house on the west bank of the
creek is a place where a large size wash out
hole had been formed, the banks being from
ten to twelve feet straight up and down. From
the southeast corner of this wash out, a long
conal wall was laid up out of sod. This place
was used to catch wild horses. Men engaged
in that work used this place to catch wild
horses and it is called Wild Horse Corral.
There is no trail in use at this time in our
neighborhood but at one time there was a
trail running down the Launchman Creek,
used by people picking buffalo bones. This
was called the Bone Pickers Trail.
The first teacher was Mrs. Hellen Slusser.
School warrant number one was drawn on
October 12, 1889
for
$20.00
for the first
month's teaching.
Written by Ruth Goebel in 1924.
by Ruth Bauder
some
running water and natural hay meadows.
On this creek were scattering cottonwood
timber, out of which another house was built,
corrals and horse barns were also built.
The log house that they bought from the
Ricks brothers had one door to the east, two
small holes about ten by twelve hewed
through the logs, one on the south and one
on the west for light. The roof was logs laid
dirt thrown on top. On the
west and north side, the logs have been
close together and
burned, some nearly half way through. It was
told that this was done by Indians. Mr. E.
McCrillis also said that buffalo were plentiful
here at that time.
About 1886, settlers began to come, settling
near the creeks and rivers on account ofwater
and fuel. Their first houses were mostly dug
outs. A square hole dug in the ground about
four feet deep, then with a spade the sod was
cut about ten inches wide and from eighteen
to twenty-two inches long, and two or three
inches thick. These were laid on top of each
other, building a wall to the desired height.
Then ends were laid up out of sod and a roof
put on, in most cases it was made out of
lumber brought in with the first settlers.
Soon after the first settlers came, they tried
SUCKER'S FLAT
T420
The first permanent homesteads in the
area called Sucker's FIat. located about 20
miles north and east of Flagler, were settled
in 1908 by a group who came from Shelby
County, Missouri. In all 23 homesteads were
taken in that area by this group who called
it Shiloh after their Baptist Church in Shelby
County. The name, Sucker's Flat, originated
because the area was flat and inviting to
farmers but water was very hard to come by,
being so deep.
The first ones to come included John Will
(Jack) Lipford, his foster brother and cousin,
Walter Curry, three Barnett brothers - Vic,
Chester, and Marv. A relative of the Barnetts
was living at Rexford, Kansas, and in 1907
had a large crop of grain. He sent word back
to Shelby County asking someone to come to
help harvest and it was these young men who
went out to help him. Apparently while in
western Kansas they became interested in
the idea of homesteading in Colorado, and in
the fall of 1907, before returning to Missouri,
�3'**W
')ry,
:i.
. ,....,:,
- .,
i,t4{9!;r,'ry'*Yc'
'.;*,:,:
.
^.'la'
Shiloh congregation shown in front of J.W. Lipford barn where services were held in the hayloft until Shiloh
Baptist Church was built.
they took the train from Rexford to Seibert.
There they met the land office men who
drove them out to the area where they
decided on their homestead sites before
returning to Missouri.
The next spring the five had their farm
sales early in the year and the men came first
to get houses ready to live in. They first built
a
two-room dugout. Their furniture and
belongings came by immigrant car and they
used tents to cover their furniture, etc.
Blanche (Lipford) Carper remembers that
her parents, the Lipfords, brought only
chickens, purchasing horses and other livestock after they arrived. All lived in the tworoom dugout while they built a 2-room soddy,
first for the Vic Barnetts and then for the
Lipfords and the Currys and then for Chester
and Marv Barnett who were bachelors at the
time. The chickens had to be put in coops at
night or the coyotes would have gotten them.
Jack Lipford's homestead bordered Washington County as did Walter Curry's. They
each had 80 acres of excess land (due to the
correction line) which they farmed as long as
they lived on their places but which they
didn't own.
It
was six months before wells were dug
and
Blanche recalls the women and children
drove teams and wagons 6 miles to bring back
barrels ofwater for both the livestock and the
people. Mail came out on the Cope Road
which was ten miles away.
Other families who came to homestead
from Shelby County included the Bill, Oscar
and Ross Churchwell families; the Ed Hoa-
glund family which included three children;
two Nelson families, Harlan and wife and
their children, Mary, Bruce, Lear and Jim
and the Bedford Nelsons whose children were
My'rtle and Kenneth; the Mason Wilson
family (Mrs. Wilson and Mrs. Ed Hoaglund
were sisters); and two bachelor brothers of
the women, Grover and Alex Todd; Ed and
Dick Bragg, bachelor brothers of Mrs. Lena
Lipford; Sarah Weaver, a widow and her four
children, two daughters and two sons, all of
whom filed on homesteads; Jacob Curry and
wife, the father of Walter Curry and uncle
and foster father of Jack Lipford; Luther
(Gurd) Hewitt and wife, Laura, and their
children, Florence, Daisy, Pearl, Alice, one
more daughter and their son, Mac. Mr.
Hewitt was the twin of Mrs. Walter Curry.
Well drilling was a priority, with Burd and
Walter Todd, cousins of Grover and Alex,
having a well drilling outfit.
The first school was built by the homesteaders and was called Ash Grove. The first
term was probably about 1910 with Clair
Williams recalled as the first teacher. Dora
Wolverton was among the early teachers.
Later the Shiloh Central School was built
which had a full basement and two rooms
above. Teachers usually lived in the basement.
Church services were probably held from
the beginning in homes. The Harlan Nelsons
had a 3-room soddy so it was most often used
since there was more space. In the summer,
services were held in the Jack Lipford barn
hayloft. Sometimes the men would move an
organ into the hayloft.
The Shiloh Baptist Church was organized,
probably about 1911, and named for the
home church in Missouri. It was built on a
corner of the Bedford Nelson land with an
adjoining cemetery, also established. It was
built by the men of the community with the
usual work days with 15 or 20 men assembling
to do the work and the
women bringing
basket dinners. A copy ofthe deed dated Dec.
8, 1915, which was recorded in 1916, stated
that the land would revert to the Nelson
family when no longer used as a church and
cemetery. Jacob Curry, who organized and
chartered the church, had been born in
Kentucky on March 4, L84L, and moved to
Missouri in 1872. In 1913. the Jacob Currvs
returned to Missouri.
by Blanche Lipford Carper
�
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
Communities
Date Created
Date of creation of the resource.
1988
Subject
The topic of the resource
History
Description
An account of the resource
A record of the communities in Kit Carson County as recorded 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
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>