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the range all winter. There was very little
ADOLF - WEISSHAAR
FAMILY
snow in the winter and no snow storms until
1899, had a big snow that left 20 inches on the
ground and stayed on all winter. No feed and
no grain, no way to buy feed, so the cattle
FI
started to starve to death.
We had a neighbor by the name of John
WaN who had a big herd of cattle and no wav
to buy feed or grain, so he had tojust see them
die.The neighbors came and heiped skin the
cattle which they got 2b cents a hide for. He
loet the entire herd. That may sound bad, but
I-saw that myself, the cows got so hungry that
they ate their own manure and the hoisls ate
the boards of the corrals and the hair of each
other's manes and tails.
In 1902, diphtheria broke out and with no
doctor in the eettlement, we lost 10 or 12
persons, and we lost our oldest brother.
A.W. Adolf during a blizzard in t87 4. They didn't
have electricity due to the storm. Note thi gloves
are made out of beaver, the fur coat is one hJ wore
many years ago, the lap robe is made from the hide
of his favorite horse, Tony, made in the early '20's.
The following story was told to A.W.'s
grandaughter Egther Young in Nov of 1g77.
"My father, August Adolf, and my mother
and two children moved from South Dakota
to Burlington and took a homestead nine
miles north of Bethune (now known as the
Edgar Stahlecker farm) and lived in a oneroom dugout
the roof covered with sod
and no other -buildings on the place.
May 8, 1890, I was born. My Dad had to
haul the water from the Republican River
a1d h9d just two barrels on the wagon. So
when he came home and wae going to-unload
the barrel, it slipped out of his trotd and he
lost all the water and they did not have
enough water to wash me.
There was all open range: no fences, no
^
farming, no plowed ground . . . all grass at
that time . . . the Indians killed t[em for
their hide. All that was left was
a
pile of bones
where one could find an arrowhead that
killed the buffalo, of which I still have eome
of the arrowheads I found.
There were lots of antelope, coyotes,
prairie dogs, owls, prairie chickenJ and
rattlesnakes. Later, the country was filled
with cattle and horses that roamed the
prairies.
As ti1e went on, the fanily grew to four
-boys
and three girls. Father hid-quite a few
cattle and, to my knowledge, theri wagn,t a
horse on our ranch that was not broke to ride
or to drive and if I could not ride him, I had
a younger brother, Gust, that could ride him.
I was born in the saddle and with boots on
and still wear boots and want to be buried
with boots on, so much for that.
I was baptized 28th December, 1890 at the
John Dobler home by Rev. D. Meyer. There
was no church building at the time. so thev
had the service in one home. pastor Meyer
was the firet minieter in the settlem ent. 27th
March, 1904, I was confirmed in the old stone
church, the Immanuel Lutheran Church, by
Rev. Robert Ackerman of Yale, Co. and on
Nov. 10, 1912,
I
Danny, and one of my aunts.
One thing that the old settlers feared the
most was prairie fires. There was a prairie fire
that started at Yuma and jumped the
Republican River and
burnid clear to
Cheyenne Wells. Next was the rattlesnakes.
and they were plenty.
_ In 1907, a disease broke out among the
horses, called the ,.blind staggers", .r,dthey
died all over the county. My Dad lost all bui
two head, lost 15 head, so all he had left was
an old mare and colt, and at that time horses
were very valuable; that was the only way to
farm or even to get to town, as we depended
9n -hgrseg for everything. It took years to
buildthe herd up again, but in those days the
neighbors always helped when anyone nee_
ded help.
There were very few hogs on account of
grain, but if one farmer had a sow that had
pigs, then at weaning time the farmer gave
eagh g pig as far as they went so they could
raise it for the meat and lard. And to git more
meat they could shoot antelope, but there was
only o-n9 biq rifle, a 3SG, in the neighborhood,
owned by Gottlieb Bauder so if one wanted
meat, he borrowed the gun from Mr. Bauder.
There were plenty of antelopes.
In 1908, the grasshoppers were so thick
that at times they shaded the sun, and when
they lan4ed they just ate everything that was
green. There was no way to destroy them, no
poison, and no spray.
.And talking about high wages now days,
when I wae 20 years old, lworked for a farmer
in Riverton, Neb., by the name of Herman
Amman, for $10 a month and room and board
and worked harder than ever in mv life. I
worked for him two years and I pick'ed corn
for one cent a bushel.
. Thgp wer_e the good old horse days. Then,
their big problem was water for the iivestock.
No well diggers in the country and most of
the wells were dug by hand. Most of them
were 200 feet deep and the water was drawn
by hand with a bucket and a winch. A man
by the name of Jim Knapp got a well-digging
rig which was driven by a team of mutesl
Then came the O.K. windmills to solve the
problems. Cost of an eight-foot windmill was
$25 "wooden wheel."
I had nothing to start with and I think I still
it left yet."
August William Adolf, better known
have half of
as
was married to Marv E.
Weisshaar by Rev. N. Brun in the Immanuel
A.W. was born to Russian - German homesteaders August and Katherine Richter Adolf
building.
gust was the first male birth registered in the
newly incorporated Kit Carson County. A.W.
only had three years of formal schooling but
Lutheran Church, the old stone church
Il
ttr:9arly days there never was any hay
stacked, for the cattle and horsee wet" out on
in the "Settlement" north of Bethune. Au-
always had a high regard of education and
served on the school board at Bethune for
many years. He was an early member of the
Kit Carson County Cattlemen,s Association
and hadthe first registered Angus herd in the
area in the 1940's. He loved hoises and loved
his Palominos and Percheron draft horses.
He.enjo-yed riding in parades and enjoyed the
trail rides.
A.W. and his wife Mary enjoyed ?2 years
of married life and had a family of siieirls
and_two boys. He passed awaron Feb]tz,
1985 at the age of 94.
by Eva Wood
ADOLF - WEISSHAAR
FAMILY
F2
I'll start my story with a bit of history of
my parents who were Johann and Chrislina
Margareda Wilhelm Weisshaar. Johann was
born Nov. 5, 1868 and Christin" *"s loi"
April 11, 1865, they were both born in
Lichtentall, Russia. Shortly after their
marriage on Feb. 28, 188b, they left Russia
and came west and settled first in fnlmsgs,
Nebr. It was here that my oldest sister Le"na
Schlichenmayer w€ul born on June 1, lgg6.
They were not quite a year in Nebr. when
they heard that there were people from the
s4me place that they were from in Russia.
living around ldalia, Co., so they once more
packed their belongings and headed west.
They took up a homestead four miles south_
east of Idalia where I was born; Eva Maria
(Mary), on Nov. 27, l1g2.
In the-spring of 1900, when I was eight
years old, we moved from Idalia to lhe
"Settlement" north of Bethune, Co. where
about 15 families of Russian German decent
were living. My Dad bought a relinquishment
deed from a family by the name of Mack
_B_ev!er, It is the place my youngest brother
Karl Weisshaar still owns northwest of
Burlington, Co. We were a family of seven
gills and four boys. Lena, myseif (Mary),
John Frederick, b. Sept. lb, fggl, died-io
1?97; Christina Margaret Fischer, b. Sept. 80,
1889, died in Nov. 19?8 ; Fredericka Fischer,
b. Mar. 29, 1891;Margaret Stahlecker b. Nov.
15, 1894; Jacob (Jake) b. Dec. 12, 1g96; Karl
Frederick b 1898 and died at age 2 weeks;
b. July 27, Lg}O;
Ig.y]i"" Sjhlichenmayer
William (Bill) 951;.1ian b. Sepi. zsi, tgozi
Anna Dorthea Adolf b. Oct. fl, fSO+; and
Karl Bernhard b. Feb. 19, 1910. Mrs August
Adolf, Mrs. William Adolf and Mrs. Sherilan
Yale were the mid-wives in the area.
We went to a little one room school located
where Hope Church, north of Bethune now
stands. I was 8 years old when I started school
and 12 before I ever got to go to Burlington.
tly cutting across prairie and pasture land it
was about 3 % miles to school. It was only on
very_ cold days or stormy days that my bad
would take us to school and come get us with
the horse and buggy. We did not have
overshoes and on the days when there was
snow a couple inches deep Mother would tie
gunny sacks over our shoes to keep our feet
from getting wet. I was confirmed at age lb
and this-also ended my going to school AI
ot us krds were confirmed at the Immanuel
Lutheran Church.
�my days were full of cooking,
cleaning,
sewing, tending the garden and milking as we
always milked 8 or 9 cowe. I raised a lot of
turkeys, ducks, geese and chickens. Our first
w
mattress was filled with corn husks, but I
made the pillows of duck and goose down. I
never bought a pillow and I gave each one of
my children a pair of these down filled pillows
when they married.
The moet difficult timee for us was the
drought and the "dugt bowl days". How we
"3',*:i'
:
'-,':',']ll'
A.W. and Mary Adolf taken in 1915.
$400. Our youngest son, Allan and his wife
still live there. This is where I went as a bride.
It had a small shack and a rock barn. We
started with very few possessions; a team of
horses and a top bnggy, and my folks gave us
a wedding gift of two milk cows, a dozen
chickens, and a hog.
The first summer I had crearn, butter and
eggs to sell so I could buy groceries. OfcourseI always raised a big garden, about a acre of
potatoes, along with a big waterr'Tgl9n n1tcf.
i remember when coyotes would bite a hole
in a watermelon, eat out the insides and leave
the shell! What we didn't eat fresh from the
A.W. and Mary Adolph on their 70th wedding
anniversary in 1982.
I remember Dad hitching up a team to the
wagon and all of us going out in the fall qf-the
y"i to pi"k up dried cow chips for fuel. Since
lhere were no trees for firewood, this was
often the only fuel we had, especially at
Idalia. We also burned corn cobs to get the
fire started. We also went along the railroad
to pick up coal. This was a long way-s to go
so didn't go very often. One time when we
were hunting for coal, a train came by and
when the men saw us kids they threw out a
couple shovels full ofcoal for us. Later on we
bought coal in Burlington.
Uy folks are both buried in the Immanuel
Lutheran Church Cemetery. Dad died at the
age of 53 on Dec. 6, 1916 and Mother died
Feb. 28, 1946 at the age of 80.
On Nov. L2, LgLz I was married to A.W.
Adolf in the Immanuel Lutheran Church. It
was a beautiful day. A.W. and I, along with
our attendants had to sit on the front pew
thru the morning services. Right after church
we then were married. Afterwards the whole
congregation cnme to my folks'home where
they ate dinner, spent the afternoon, ate
supper and stayed until late that night. It was
a long day but a lot of fun.
A.W. bought a 7z section relinquishlrent
deed from a man named L.L. Leonard for
garden I always canned or pickled. Always
lad a barrel of sauerkraut, one of pickles and
even made watermelon pickles. Oh, this was
so good! We also (continued Story lf 4).
Dried corn and beans. In the fall Papa
would sell a wagon load of wheat to buy flour
to last for the winter.
Davis, a neighbor, drilled our well
shortly after we moved on to the place. He
drilled most of the wells in the neighborhood.
Ifwe had a good corn crop, we would burn the
cobs in the cook stove and buy a little coal for
the heating stove. The house, adobe, was
warm during the day, but we slept in cold
rooms at night. A lot of mornings there would
be frost ott the blankets. We used a lot of
dried cow chips for fuel too.
Papa and I were married about 6 years
before were able to purchase our first car, a
Ford Touring car. I never did learn to drive
as the kids and Papa always did the driving.
For social life, besides going to church, we
attended literary meetings held in different
country school houses. An early day school
teachei, Tom Dillion, who lived near Bethune, organized them. On Sunday afternoons, after church, people would go visiting
and the children played singing games like:
"Last Couple Out", "Drop the Hankie"'
Bill
"Home on the Range", and also played
"Andy, Andy Over". I would often play the
mouth harp to furnish the music. I still play
the mouth harP once in a while.
As the family grew to six girls and two boys,
survived is beyond me. The wind would blow
day and night and many mornings when we
got up you could see where we laid on the
pilow, outlined in dust which sifted in. I
iemember one dust storm which came up like
a dark cloud, all of a sudden with no warning.
Our oldest Bon, Art, was out in the freld. He
couldn't see where to go, so he unhitched the
horses and let them find the way home. He
was almost choked to death by the dust
before he got home. During worst of the
storms we had to light the lemps during the
day because it was dark outside. A lot of
mornings after one of these storms we took
a shovel and scooped out the dust from in
front of the door and the windows.
All of my children, except Allan, was born
on the home place. He was the only one born
in the hospital. The two mid-wives for the
area were Mrs. Sherman Yale and Mrs.
August Adolf, Sr. who was my mother-in-law.
My children are: Hilda b. Sept. 26, 1913'
married Otto Ziegler Sept. 30, 1932; Amanda
b. Feb. 20, 1915, married David Richards
Sept. 6, 1933; Leona b. June 3, 1916, manied
Hary Hefner Sept' 11, 1946; Gladys b. Nov.
27, L920, married Hugh Patterson June 20,
194?: Art b. June 5, 1918, married MarY
Heisel Sept. 24,L945; Della b. Oct. 17' 1929
married Robert Pugh April 8, 1949; Eva
Marie b. Dec.4, 1933, married Edward Wood
June 5, 1955 and Allan, b. Feb. 22' 1935
married June Cole August 23, 1956.
During the 42 years Papa and I lived on the
homestead we made manY changes and
improvements. We retired and moved to
Builington in 1956. My husband and I
celebrated our ?2nd anniversary in 1984. He
atthe age of94
Immanuel Lutheran
passed away on Feb. 12, 1985
and is buried
in the
Church CemeterY.
This was told to her daughter Eva and
grandson Pastor Greg Adolf.
by Eva Wood
ADOLF STAHLECKER
FAMILY
F3
Gottlieb Adolf, Sr., was born to William
and Margrette Adolf on November 3' 1891 at
Anaba Michaelfeld, South Russia, which was
a small village near the Black Sea. He sailed
to America with his parents on May 8' 1908
and settled on a homestead north of Bethune,
Colorado. He later took his own homestead
north ofBethune and batched for a few years'
Barbara Stahlecker was born December 24,
1885 in Tripp, South Dakota, to Martin and
Katherina Stahlecker. At the age of eight
years, she moved with her parents to a farm
north of Bethune, Colorado.
�born princess who ruled Russia as Czarina
from 1762 to 1796, initiated an era of German
colonization of southern Russia along the
Volga and Dnieper Rivers and around the
Black Sea. Lavish promises were made by the
Russian government to German craftsmen
and farmers, including free land, initial
subsidies, and important guarantees of rights
of local government, freedom of religion, and
exemption from military service. Many Germans were induced to "homestead" in Russia
by these promises and by the desire to leave
the areas devastated by war in Europe.
In 1817 one such family, the Adolf Family,
emigrated from West Prussia to Bessarabia
as
part of this resettlement. They settled in
the new town of Briene, sharing in
the
communal life of these German towns, where
everyone lived in the village which centered
around the Lutheran Church and School,
plying their trades and working small fields
in the surrounding countryside, as they had
in Germany. This "communal" feature of
German rural life, caried into Russia and
then into the United States, marked the
Germans from Russia ag "clannish" but was
really part of a centuries old culture. Life on
Gottlieb and Barbara Adolf about year 1950.
On February 3, 1910, she was married to
Jacob Wiedman.
To this union one
son
George was born. In March of 1911, Jacob
passed away.
On March 25, LgL4, Barbara was married
to Gottlieb Adolf. To this union, four children
were born. Gottlieb Jr., Leah, Herman and
Ella. Ella passed away at the age of 21
months.
Gottlieb and Barbara made their living and
raised their children on a 480 acre farm 15
miles northeast of Bethune, Colorado, known
as "the Settlement." Their children attended
the Yale School (a one room adobe building)
later known ag the Schaal School which was
one mile from the Adolf farm.
Their fust car was a 1917 Model T Ford
Touring.
They lived on this farm until the "dust
bowl days" of the thirties when they and all
their family moved to Springbrook, Oregon
in 1935. There they rented a small acreage
and all worked at different jobs, etc.
In 1937, they all moved back to their farm
in Colorado and lived there until in 1953
when they moved to Burlington, Colorado
where they retired
until their deaths.
Gottlieb died November 14, 1963.
Barbara died November 23. 1973.
by Leah Schick
the isolated homesteads of the American
prairies was a real hardship for many of the
Germans from Russia, accustomed as they
were to shared village life.
Beginning in 1871, a series of government
actions under Czar Alexander II began to
affect the German-speaking colonies in Russia in many far-reaching ways. The acts were
part of the "russification" or forced absorp-
tion of foreign minorities into the Russian
culture. Local government wag abolished in
the German-speaking areas in 1871 and in the
autumn of 1874 the Russian army began
'drafting' young men from the German
KATHERINE
F4
The first of the Adolf Family to settle in
Carson County was August Adolf, who
was born to Christian and Friederika (Steg)
Adolf in Briene, Bessarabia, a province in
southern Russia, near the Black Sea, in
March, 1862.
As many of the early settlers in the area
Kit
north of Bethune (still known as "The
registered male birth in the newly-incorpora-
Kit Carson County. An often-repeated
family story is that when August Adolf
arrived home from the Republican River,
where the settlers had to go to get water
ted
before the first wells were dug, and learned
that his son was born, in the excitement the
horses bolted, overturning the water banels.
It was two days before August could safely
leave his wife and new son to go for more
water, and so the baby was a few days old
before he could have his first bath!
August Adolf was a shoemaker by trade in
Russia and so beside caring for his homestead
and his growing family, he walked to Burlington
approximately 15 miles across the
prairie - to make and repair shoes and boots,
earning- 25 cents a day. His wife, Katherine,
was one of the first mid-wives in the area. She
and "Grandma" Yale, another of the early
mid-wives, delivered many of the children
born in those years, and sometimes assisted
Dr. C. Gilette, one of the first medical doctors
in Kit Carson County, with practical nursing.
There were no buffalo left in Kit Carson
County when these first German settlers
arrived, but there were antelope to supplement the meager meat supply. The only gun
in "The Settlement" was a 33-gauge rifle,
owned by Gottlieb Bauder, which was shared
by the people of "the Settlement," as were
their other tools and their skills. Gradually,
cattle herds were built up and more ground
broken for growing grain and feed. Earlier
Germans from Russia had brought with them
a hardy winter wheat, well-adapted to the
cold, dry winters of the prairies. It was the
introduction of this winter wheat which
opened much of the "high plains" to wheat
production. (An unwelcome "hitch-hiker"
colonies. The loss of these important guarantees, which the Germans had received when
they first settled in Russia a century before,
was the Russian thistle, which has become a
triggered
the tumbleweed!)
a slow but
increasing
flow of
German families and young men eligible for
army service to leave Russia for North and
South America. This movement increased
rapidly in the 1880's as the promise of
abundant free lands available overgeas drew
more and more Germans out of Russia. The
new wave of emigration continued until the
First World War in 1914 and brought many
thousands of Germans from Russia to the
United States, Canada, Brazil and Argentina.
August Adolf was one of the young men
caught up in this great westward wave of
emigration. Married in 1884 to Katherine
Richter, they left Russia in 1888 with their
two children, Daniel and
ADOLF, AUGUST AND
Adolf, was born. He was the first baby to be
born in "The Settlement" and, was the first
Katherine
("Katie"), following the tracks of other
Germans from Russia coming to the American West. They settled briefly in Scotland,
South Dakota, (one of the "jumping off'
points for newly arrived immigrants), but
moved on quickly to the prairies of the 14year-old state of Colorado. Arriving in Burlington in March of 1890, August Adolf and
his family, together with a few other Germans
from Russia, settled north of Bethune, near
other German fanilies from Russia, among
whom were the Doblers, Strobels, Schaals
and Baltzers.
Settlement") came from southern Ruesia in
Their first homes were dug-outs, carved
into hillsides with planks, covered with sod,
the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a brief
serving as the roof. Later, adobe houses were
background sketch of these Germans from
Russia may be helpful.
In 1763 Catherine the Great. a German-
built which were much better than the sod
houses most of the other early settlers had.
On May 8, 1890, a son, August William
kind of "trademark" of the American West:
In 1892 August Adolf was able to arrange
for his father and mother, Christian and
Friederika Adolf, together with their children, Frederika, Andrew, and Katherina, to
come to the United States. Christian and his
family settled near Denver when they first
arrived; he and Andrew worked in the
smelters. Later, they came to "The Settlement," where Christian practiced his trade of
blacksmithing.
In
1896, Frederika Adolf
married the widower, Franz Kramer, raising
his children, Frank, Marie, Christine, Margaretha, and Rosie, as well as their own
children in time: Christian, William, Katherina (Jurgens), Frederika, Amelia (Stahlecler) and Pauline (Kloeckner).
In 1908 the last of Christian and Friederika's five children came to the United States.
Wilhelm and his wife Margaretha (Buchfink)
came to Colorado from Michaelsfeld in
Bessarabia. He was a skilled wagon-maker by
trade, but had to sell his tools for passage
money for the fanily. Their children are:
Margaret (Meyer), Gottlieb, \{illiam, Christina (Lessing), Mary (Kramer) Carl, John,
Christian, Nettie (Hasart), and Frieda
(Weisshaar).
Andrew Adolf married Margaretha
(Schlickenmayer) and raised nine children in
"The Settlement": Jacob, Karolina (Golle),
William, John S., Emanuel, Fred, David,
Frieda (Gramm), Martha (Weiss), and Gotthilf.
The children of August and Katherina
�Adolf are: Daniel (who died in a diptheria
epidemic in 1892), Katherina ("Katie")
(Wahl), August ("A.W."), Gustaf, Christian,
Luella (Holwegner), Anna (Hasart), md
Daniel Jacob.
From these four children of Christian and
Friederika: Frederika, August, Wilhelm, and
Andrew, are descended many of the residentg
of eastern Kit Carson County, many of them
still living in "The Settlement" north of
Bethune.
by Pastor Gregory Adolf
ADOLF, AUGUST AND
KATHRINA
F5
We Helped Start the Settlement
August and Kathrina Adolf were Germans
who had immigrated to Briene Bessarabia,
South Russia.
In 1888 Mr. and Mrs. Adolf and their two
Russian born children, Danny age 3 and
Katie age 1, carne to America. They made
their first home in Scotland, South Dakota,
where others of their nationality had settled.
Here Mr. Adolf worked as a shoemaker.
In March 1890, the Adolf family along with
others came to Burlington and started what
is now known as and cdled the "German
Settlement," an area north and east of
Bethune. The new railroad had just come
many died. Wahls lost three children, Strobels logt one, August Adolf, Sr., lost one and
others whose nnmes cannot now be recalled.
August Adolf was a shoe cobbler and
besides caring for his cow, two horses and
what little feed he could raise, he walked to
Burlington every morning and home every
evening
for the approximate
earnings of
twenty five to seventy five cents a day. Many
times he carried a sack of food home. A 50 lb
sack of flour could be bought for 75 cents. A
two year old steer sold for $10.00. Good cows
also sold for around $10.00. Horses were
scarce and were treaeured. Their water was
hauled by wagon from the Republican River.
There were no buffalo left in this area, but
there were hundreds of antelope. There was
only one gun in the Settlement, a .32 rifle
owned by Gottlieb Bauder. It was used by
anyone wanting to hunt.
The women spun their own yarn from the
few sheep that they raised. All the socks, caps,
coats, sweaters, etc., were hand knitted.
The mattresses for the beds were filled
with either gtraw or corn shucks. Ifthe crops
had been good, they were filled with new
straw each year,
Fire was a great hazard in those days. A
plow, barrel of water and gunny sacks were
their fire fighting equipment. One bad fire
recalled was one which started at Yuma,
Colorado, and was never stopped until it
reached the railroad at Cheyenne Wells,
Colorado; it had even jumped the Republican
River.
by Della Adolf Pugh
through this new country. August and Kath-
rina were the second fanily to claim
a
homest€ad. The firstfamilywae Mr. and Mre.
Christ Dobler. Soon aftcrwards the Strobels,
Schaslr, Baltzere and others also homesteaded.
The settlers'firet homes were dugouts with
planks covered with sod serving as the roof.
Rattlesnakes were their constant danger.
ADOLF, CHRISTIAN
F6
Christian Adolf and Friederike (Steeg)
Adolf were born and raised in Brienne,
Bessarabia, South Russia. They were married
in
1859. Friederike was born on February 19,
They had three sons and two daughters.
1889 they left Russia and came to the
United States with sons, August who married
Catherina Richter, and Andrew who manied
Margaret Schlichenmayer, and daughters
Friederike who married Frank Krsmer, and
Caroline who died at an early age (16) after
1842.
In
arriving in America. Their son Wilhelm
(William) Adolf and wife Margaret (Buchfink) Adolf and children remained in Brinne.
The family settled on what was then barren
plain about 18 miles northwest of Burlington,
Colorado, in what is known as the German
(Russian) Settlement. Together with other
early settlers, that colony of industrious
frugal saving people have made that portion
of Kit Carson County one of the most
beautiful spots in Eastern Colorado. What
was once the home of the wild beasts and the
red man has now become an oasis of
fertility,
dotted here and there with happy homes, big
barns, fine churches and well kept stock of all
kinds. Thanks to their energy and persever€ulce and cultured home sunoundings, that
portion of Kit Carson County more nearly
resembles the typical eastern farm neighbor-
hood than almost any other part of this
county which extends about 60 miles east and
west and for a distance of 36 miles in width.
It is these early pioneers who have redeemed
Eastern Colorado from its pristine waste.
Freiderike and Christian Adolf lived for 65
years together as companion and helpmate.
Friederike died at her home north of Bethune, Colorado on Februar5r 5, 1924 at the
ripe age of 81 years 11 months and 16 days.
Christian Adolf was featured on the May
10, 1919 edition of a Lincoln, Nebraska
Later on they plowed the ground making
large clots of dirt. They would shape them
into equares and etack them one on top of
another making a wall. The roofs were also
planks covered with sod.
Still later on, they made the houses out of
adobe. This was a mud and straw mixture. A
large round vat shaped place was made in the
ground to which dirt, watcr and straw were
added. Horses were led to walk around and
around in the vat to mix the mud mirture
until it was the right thicknees. Then it wag
cut into blocks. Thege blocks were then
carefully piled about one foot high around the
desired size of the room wanted. After it had
dried sufficiently another foot of adobe was
added and so on until it wag the degired
height. Sometimes a shingle roof would be
added. Others would just use mud covered
planks. Some two etory houses would be
built
this way.
On May 8, 1890, Mr. and Mrs. Adolfs son,
A.W. Adolf, was born. He was the firgt white
baby to be born in the Settlement. There
were no doctors in this area, so all new babies
were delivered by women who were called
midwivee. One of the first was Grandmother
Yale. The first doctor to come to this area wag
Dr. Gillette. However, before he cnme the
settlers relied on home remedies. It was
remembered that about six years after the
gettlere came, diphtheria struck heavily and
Christian and Frederike Adolf working in their garden. Notice hand made hoe and rake with rock house
in background.
�mill. Times were very hard.
When spring arrived, moet of the families
started large gardens. Not much wheat was
seeded because there were very few draft
animals to do the plowing. All started large
gardens and everything they planted provid-
ed a bountiful harvest for them.
Some
planted fruit trees, mainly mulberries. Starlings were a problem. These they tried to
frighten away with a loud noise maker.
In the second year, 1818, a small caravan
of 30 families cnme from the province of
f
Wurttemberg, also called Schaben, Germany.
r
All these people settled in the colony. Every
one got their 60 desjatins of land from the
government.
Heinrich and Carlotta Rossman Adolf had
seven sons and no daughters. They are Karl
r'"*.:,'::ii.
gl:i: - r'
'%r.' J1.
:: :u..
4-.t
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-
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'w
.
tlt
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Tfr
who married Eva Kuch, they had five sons
and two daughters.
Johann who married Eva Klaf, they had
four sons and five daughters.
Wilhelm who married Barbara Maier, they
had two sons and five daughters.
Heinrich who married Magdalena Oster,
they had three sons and five daughters.
Christian who married Friederike Steeg,
they had three sons and two daughters.
Fredrick who married Elizabeth Schell,
i
they had five song and five daughters.
Daniel who married Katherina Zinc, they
had seven sons and seven daughters.
This short history of the grandparents was
translated from a German diary in 1954 by
Fredrick Adolf who was 87 years old. He was
born March 9, 1868 in the German colony of
Brienne, Bessarabia, South Russia. He came
to the United States with his parents in 1889
and settled in the area of North Dakota that
is now known as Hazen.
*
by Victor Knell
,ttt
,li.
'.1ilr,.
;':
'r:rrr:il
ADOLF, WILLIAM
F8
William (Wilhelm) Adolph, son of Christian and Friederika (Steeg) Adolf was born
t
t,,
Christian Adolffeatured on the cover ofthe May 10, 1919 edition of a Lincoln, Nebraska weekly farm paper.
weekly farm paper. This is a photo of
Christian Adolf shelling corn with a hand
corn sheller. He was born in 1.839 and died on
August 3, L925 and was a blacksmith by
trade.
They lived just east of Hope Congregational Church.
The Adolfs were life long members of
Immanuel Lutheran Church.
Christian was partially blind when he was
with son William and
family who cared for them til their death.
80 and they went to live
by Marlyn Hasart
ADOLF, HEINRICH
was married to Margaretta Buchfink on May
21. 1887 in Brienne.
Margaret Buchfink Adolf was born on
F7
Heinrich Adolf and Carlotta Rossman
Adolf were born in Berlin, Germany. They
migrated to Brienne, Bessarabia Russia, with
70 other families in 1817. This colony was
established in 1816. They made the trip to the
unsettled Steppe with much difficulty. Food
was scarce and the sky was their roof and the
earth their bed. The Russian government
little money to build a house and
gave them a
60 desjatin (162 acres) of land and clothing
was provided to last a year.
Grandfather Adolf had brought
in Brienne, Bessarabia, SouthRussia, on May
22,L867. He was baptized three days later by
Pastor Benenann and was confirmed March
24, L883 by Pastor Leshe in the Lutheran
Church. He was a wagon maker by trade. He
a little
money with him. He built a wind mill right
away, since he was a miller by trade. He
milled the people's wheat into flour. For his
work he took a portion of the wheat, that is
from a pud (40) pounds, then charged a
garnitz for his work. There are 8 garnitz in a
pud. He also asked 5 pounds for the use ofthe
in Teplitz, Bessarabia,
South Russia. She was baptized when she was
three days old by Pastor Luman and confirmed in 1883 by Pastor Leshe in old Artzies.
November 7, 1868
Margaret was the daughter of John Buckfin.
Her parents died when she was 7 years old
and she went to live with her sister Katherine
Gast until womanhood.
William and Margaret were married on
May 21, 1888. In 1889 the family moved to
the colony of Michaelsfeld near the town of
Anaba, South Russia, near the Black Sea.
Here William pursued the trade of wagon
maker, making wagons and selling them at
the market place.
Because of deteriarating relations with the
Russian government and the German colonists William and family decided to come to
America. The Russian army was drafting the
German boys into the service and they did
not want their sons to be drafted. Williems'
�AESCHLIMANN
FAMILY
F9
Rudolph Aeschlimann was born on September 7,L877 in Hubel, near Bern, Switzerland. He grew up in Ruti, Switzerland and
becnme a policeman in Bern. Rudolph was a
detective and after solving an underworld
case he took a leave and came to the USA on
October 28, 1905 to visit his sister Rosa
Aeschlimann Chavet at Omaha, Nebraska.
During this visit he fell in love with Martha
Schnuelle and on February 18, 1909 they
were married.
Martha Schnuelle was born on November
10, 1884 in Baxter, Iowa.
They moved to Colorado and for a very
short time in 1919 they lived near Burlington
on the Dvorak farm. Rudolph was called back
to Switzerland due to the illness of his
mother. His wife and two sons, Armand and
Edwin returned to Nebraska during his stay
in Switzerland. Rudolph was being detained
because ofa European Quarantine caused by
The family of William and Margaret Adolf. Standing L. to R.: Gottleib, William, Margaret, August, Nettie,
Carl, Mary, John and Christian. Seated, Willio-, Frieda, and Margaret. A sister Christina is not pictured.
parents and brothers and sister were already
in Colorado so they sold their home and left
all their
possessions except clothing and
bedding and left Russia arriving on May 8,
1908 at Galveston, Texas, with their ten
children, Margaret, who married Conrad
Meyer; Gottleib who maried Barbara Stahlecker Wiedman; Willinm who married Margaret Bauer; Christina who married Richard
Lessing; August who married Mabel Blackburn; Carl who married Clara Stahlecker;
May who married Frank Kramer; John who
married Martha Stahlecker; Christian who
married Anna Weisshaar; and Nettie who
married Jacob Hasart. Frieda was born in
their home north of Bethune Colorado. She
married William Weisshaar. Three children
had passed away at an early age in Russia.
Because they were lacking money to pay for
their passage the family in Colorado went to
Mr. J.P. Evans to borrow the needed funds.
It was agreed that the boys would work for
him to repay the debt. Upon arriving in
Galveston, Margaret was quarantined due to
an eye infection, so Mother Adolf and baby
Nettie, and brother August remained in
Galveston until September. Father William
and the regt of the family journeyed by train
to Bethune, Colorado and then on to the
home of his parents north of Bethune.
Their first home was s'ith Williams parents
on their homestead 12 miles north of and I
7z miles East of Bethune. That summer a two
Gottlieb and Bill remained home to care for
the farm.
To provide food for their family Margaret
raised lots ofducks, stored lots ofvegetables
in the cellar, made barrelg of pickles and
watermelon pickles, and sauerkraut. These
barrels were 15 gallon in size. Willinm always
helped the neighbors butcher bringing home
a length of sausage. He had a smoke house
filled with sausage, cured ham, ducks, and
rabbit
Margaret was the community midwife. She
was always on call and very busy. She also
helped whenever anyone was ill. She would
go and stay as long as needed sometimes
staying as long as a week. She never charged
for her services but would receive a free will
offering. Many shared food with her. She had
a little wooden box which contained scissors,
dissenfectant, bandages, cord, a clean apron,
a medicine book, and chamomile tea. She
would remain with the new mother until she
was able to eat and take care of her family.
She delivered many of the children in the
Settlement north of Bethune.
The Adolf family were active members in
Immanuel Lutheran Church. William served
on the church council and taught sunday
Sons
farm and is a commercial lsmb
feeder.
of Housing at Old Dominion University.
William and his wife Carol have three
children, Kristin, Eric and Chad. Rodney and
his wife Vickie have two children, Ryan and
Kendall.
Orvel and Hildegarde own 1055 acres of
cropland and rent 1300 acres ofgrassland and
160 acres of cropland. This farm is locat€d
just two miles west of the Colorado-Kansas
border and north of Interstat€ 70. They raise
Registered and Certified Seed Wheat, have
a cow-calfcattle operation, raise hogs and for
many years had a laying hen enterprise
consisting of 2400 to 3600 laying hens and
marketed eggs in Goodland and Burlington.
Orvel and Hildegarde are active members
of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Burlington
in Kit
and are presently active
County Farm Bureau where Orvel is chair-
of 91 years, 9 months, and 14 days on August
21, 1959. Margaret made her home with her
children when she became blind. Her last
in a large tent.
Orvel and Hildegarde Kloeckner Aeschlimann were married on September 20, L944.
They have two sons, William and Rodney.
William of Hurley, South Dakota, lives on a
William died of lung cancer on September
4, 1948. Margaret died of old age at the age
years were spent in Heinrichs Rest Home in
Burlington, Colorado.
Colorado. They lived
members.
school.
homestead 12 miles North and 3/4 mile west
of Bethune. This home was adobe with a sod
roof. The boys began farming. William had
sold his wagon making tools in Russia so he
Those first years were very difficult providing the necessities of the family. They were
so lonely out on the prairie and homesick.
Many tears were shed. The country and
climate were so different from their home
near the Black Sea. For several summers
William and Margaret took part of the family
to work in the vegetable fields near Brighton,
three sons: Armand, Edwin and Orvel. They
joined First St. Paul's Lutheran Church on
January 15, 1934 where they were active
Rodney of Norfolk, Virginia, is the Director
legs.
room home was constructed on William's
could not work at his trade.
Hoof and Mouth disease. After his return
they lived in Nebraska for 10 years and
returned to Burlington in 1930 to the farm
where their son Orvel now lives.
Rudolph and Martha Aeschlimann had
by Marlyn llasart
Carson
man and Hildegarde is State Women's
Chairman of the Colorado Farm Bureau.
They have served in these capacities along
with serving the community in other activities over the years.
by Orvel Aeschlimann
�ITILDEGARDE
in addition to teaching
Sunday School and serving as Chairman of
the American Lutheran Church Women's
Organization.
Besides being a tireless promoter of agriculture and the church, she is a supporter of
the arts; serving as Vice-Chairman of the
Burlington Community Concert Committee.
Mrs. Aeschlimann has been honored by the
Colorado State Extcnsion Service being
selected the Mast€r Farm Homemaker in
zania. This was
AESCIILIMANN,
Flo
Hildegarde Aeschlimann is the Colorado,
Wyoming and New Mexico regional winner
of the Agri-Woman of the Year award for
1987.
Mrs. Aeschlimann and her husband, Orvel,
own and operate a diversified farming opera-
tion in Kit Carson County, Co. She
was
selected for this honor on the basis of her
continuous efforts to promote the agricultur-
al industry at the local, stat€ and national
levels. When asked what factors influenced
her decision to become involved in the
promotion of farm issues and the agricultural
"I
Bethune, Co. Her family moved to the county
seat of Burlington when she was 14. It wag in
high school where she met her future husband. After high school, she attended Blair
Business College, Colorado Springs, graduat-
"I started out my life
"I
as a very shy
person,"
made myself become more
involved in promotional activities because I
realized involvement was the key to getting
things done." "And promotion is the key to
she recalls.
guccegs.tt
by Diane clames
ing with a general business degree. She
AKERS - BENNING
FAMILY
Fll
James William Akers was born June 19,
manied Orvel shortly after graduation and
1930 in Monument, Colorado. Shortly there-
settled into the role of a farm wife. This year,
Aeschlimanns celebrated their 43rd
wedding anniversary.
Today the Aeschlimanns own 1,055 production acres and they rent another 160 acres
for farming and 1,300 acres of summer
pasture for their commercial Simmentalcross cow-calf operation. They also grow and
sell certified and registered seed wheat and
run a farrow-to-finish operation involving 45
after the family moved back to the Seibert,
the
sows.
Mrs. Aeschlimann is very modest about her
role in the management of the couple's farm.
She helps move and work cattle, drives that
long road to the "parts store", listens to the
daily grain and cattle market reports, weather reports, and reads the farm publications
and agricultural information the
couple
receives, passing this information on to her
husband.
Currently, she is serving her 10th term as
the chairman of the Colorado Farm Bureau
Women; a position she has been repeatedly
re-elected to for the last 21 years. The main
objective of the Colorado Farm Bweau
is to
Fr2
married a
farmer."
Mrs. Aeschlimann grew up on a farm near
Women state committee
FAMILY
L974.
industry, Mrs. Aeschlimann gives a little
shrug, smiles and simply says,
AKERS - GALES
promote,
protect and represent the business, economic,
social and educational interest of Colorado
farm and ranch families. As chairman of the
state committee, one of her main goals is to
encourage and increase the participation of
women in promoting agriculture at all levels.
Some of the progrems her committee has
developed and is responsible for implemen-
ting are: Farm Bureau Coffee, Senior Field
Studies, Farm Day and Meet the Candidates.
The committee also has developed political
and educational progta-s and materials for
groups and women's programs, which pertain
to the issues of water usage, food costs and
education.
Mrs. Aeschlimann has represent€d
St.
Paul's Lutheran Church, Burlington, Co. as
a member of the American Lutheran Church
District Council. She also has had the honor
of being the first woman ever elected to serve
on the ALC National Church Council. InLg77
she was a delegate for the Lutheran World
Federation meeting in Dar es Saalem, Tan-
Colorado area. "Frosty," as he was known in
the Seibert school system, graduated in 1947.
He spent his summers working for a family
from Brewster, Kansas where he met his wife,
Louise Benning. They were married in her
home on September 29,1949. They had four
children, Larry Eugene and Gary Dean twin
sons, James William Jr. and Ann Marie. All
the children were born at the Flagler Hospital
attended by Dr. John C. Straub.
After their marriage they lived in Seibert
until
1961 when they moved
to
Limon,
Colorado. Frosty worked for the Colorado
Department of Highways and retired after 30
years of service in 1983. In 1961 they built a
Dairy Queen in Limon and operated it for
twenty-five years. In 1975 they bought
another Dairy Queen in Sterling, Colorado
for their son Larry to operate, which he now
owns.
Their children all graduated from Limon
High School with James Jr. and Ann both
graduating from college, Jim from Western
State at Gunnison and Ann from Fort Lewis
at Durango, Colorado. Jim is an accountant
and Ann a teacher. Larry and Gary went to
a trade school in Goodland, Kansas. Gary
became an electrician.
Frosty loved the outdoors and sports. He
spent quite a bit of the time camping, hunting
and fishing and skiing. Frosty and Louise
have six grandchildren. Gary and wife Belinda have one daughter and one son. Larry
and wife Glenda have two daughters and one
son. Ann and her husband Douge Goode have
one son Forrest.
As of this writing James Jr. is not maried,
but enjoying life.
by Dorothy (Akers) Noel
John Ernest Akers, US Navy, World War I.
John Ernest "Elnie" Akers was born Feb
6, 1896 to George and Martha Hayes Akers
in Enfield, Illinois. He was one of twelve
children and went through eighth grade. He
served in the U.S. Navy during World War
I as a radioman. He received his training at
the Naval training Center in Great Lakes. He
served on a sub-chaser out of Halifax. Nova
Scotia. He often told about his experiences
in the navy which we loved to hear.
In 1919 he and his three brothers Orlin,
Willard and George came "west" to homestead and look for work. Dad homesteaded in
the Kit Carson area during the "cattle-sheep"
feud and his partner was shot, so he left for
Park County and left there when he couldn't
grow potatoes or crops on rocks. He came to
the Seibert area where he found work picking
corn for James (Bill) Gales. He later maried
their daughter, Fern Artie, born Nov. 22,t908
and to this union five children were born:
Darlene Marie 1925, Elbert Eugene 1926,
Harold Dean 1927, James William (Frosty)
1930, Dorothy Maxine 1932. They lived on
many different farms north of Seibert and a
short time in Monument, Colo. In 1944 they
moved to Englewood where the parents were
divorced. He married Rosa Boyd, aunt of
Jean Sperry, moving with her children Barbara and Joan to the farm four miles north
of Seibert, remaining there until he retired in
1954, then moving to Denver. He passed away
in October, 1960.
He was a machinist by trade but
chose
farming as his ancestors had before him. He
wasn't the best, but struggled to provide for
his family the best he could. We always had
a large garden and canned wagon loads of
corn and other home grown vegetables.
Several times he went with Lewis Reid to
Eads, Colo. to get carp and packed it in salt
for the winter. In the summer when the
�Crystal Springs dam would flood we would go
down and pick the fish out of the river and
come home with wounds from their horns.
Dad dug us a hole in the river and that was
our swimming hole. We had many weiner
roasts and picnics on the Republican River
with the Lewis Reid's. We would go frog
hunting and cook fresh frog legs. Many timea
we went rattlesnake hunting in the fall. We
children were on our own and to this day I
hate snakes.
Dad felt that education was very important
and encouraged his children to complete high
echool and was very proud when we did. He
was active in the R.L.D.S. church at Fair
Haven where we took a wagon to church until
it discontinued. He was an active member of
the Farm Bureau, I.O.O.F., VFW, 4-H club
and Community Country Club, in the north
area. He helped to refloor the VFW hall in the
late '40's and loved to watch us roller skate
with him participating many times. He was
a great ice skater and went often on the
Republican River with ue.
Ernie and Rosa loved to have the youth
come to our home for gnmss and they would
teach us games from their times. He raised
watermelons and didn't mind if the young
people "Took them" as long as they didn't
destroy them. He was an avid Republican. In
1948 the youth were at the house and we gave
him such a time while listening to the election
results. He loved to watch his children
participate in sports, plays, music and tried
to attend them all. When he married Rosa the
Odd Fellows chivareed them and it nearly
scared her to death with all the noise they
made. This was her initiation to the "country
life". Dad had a favorite saying, "God helps
Colorado. Ricky and Cindy have two daughtere and aleo live in Lamar, Colo. Rocky at
this time is not married and is traveling with
an entertainment group. Shirley passed away
in May,
1984.
by Dorothy (Akers) Noel
by Dorothy (Akers) Noel
AKERS - IIARTLEY
Fl3
My brother Elbert Eugene Akere was born
July 12, 1926 in Seibert, Colorado
and
graduatcd from Seibert High School in 1944.
He seni'ed in the U.S. Navy during World
War IL He returned to Seibert to help his
father on the farm and worked on the R.E.A.
He was married to Shirley Hartley, daughter
of George and Lola Hartley on December 6,
1952 and to this union three sons were born,
Randy, Ricky and Rocky.
He was a very athletic person and played
basketball, baseball, and track, winning
many awards. He refereed basketball for
many years. He worked with many of the
youth in scouting and just by "listening to
them". He was active in the R.L.D.S. church,
4H Club, I.O.O.F. He always was a willing
worker with a helping hand, and a true friend.
He worked for the County Highway Department and latcr the Colorado Highway
Department, and at the present time is a
eupervisor of the La Junta area.
During the depression, he and the family
skinned thousands of rabbits and sold the
skins with the carcasses going to Denver for
feed. He did a lot of trapping and one time
he and Harold got squirted by a skunk, which
we appreciated. He hae always loved the
outdoors and any sport activity. Elbert and
watchful eye of their pet bulldog. Gorton's
always had
a
AKERS - NOEL
FAMILY
F14
I
was born on the old Tom Jones place
north of Seibert, Colo. on Feb. 2, 1932. My
dad and Lillian Reid delivered me and my
brothers and sister thought it was coyotes.
Dr. McBride didn't register me, so in 1953 my
Dad went to Burlington and got my birth
certificate.
Our family and the Lewis Reids were very
close. I remember going to their place and
going ice skating on their pond one wintpr.
My brother Harold, decided to test the ice,
and he jumped up and when he came down
all fell in. David went under the ice; they had
to dive down to pull him free. I was on the
side of the pond keeping warm so didn't get
wet. It was a long cold walk to the house but
when Dad got through they were warm, at
least in one spot. We often went rattlesnake
hunting and on picnics where we hunted and
ate frog legs.
Orlen and David Reid rode their horses
to attend high school.
While in high school Bonny (Boren)
Hughes and I told Dale Hargrove if he bought
a raffle ticket for a turkey and won, we would
clean the turkey for him. Well!! He won and
we spent Saturday night "plucking turkey"
at the Earl Borens instead of going to a dance.
I'm sure Mrs. Boren appreciated the mess in
her kitchen.
I remember in the late thirties we participated in making comforters, quilts, pillows
and mattresses from baled cotton the government supplied. We had to beat it forever or
so it seemed. My mother was very good at
sewing mattreeses, eo did a great deal of them.
We rode a horse drawn sled to the Prairie
Gem school house and it was very cold with
lots of snow.
In the late thirties the family participated
in the "Old West Days" pageant that V.S.
Fitzpatrick presented. We would refurbish
an old covered wagon as authentic as we could
and I rode with Dad. If you can convince a
"small" child it was not real when an Indian
was whooping outside and running through
the wagons with one burning, "good luck".
My brothers were lndian waniors and Mom
and Lillian Reid were squaws. Darlene was
the maiden they carried away one year. There
was a bar-b-que and rodeo afterwards on top
of Rock Hill. The Reids still have Lillian's
squaw costume.
One of the important events of our lives
was at Christmas time when Santa would
come to town and give us a sack ofcandy, nuts
and mogt important an orange or apple. We
would go to Gorton's Store and sit on the
benches around the pot belly stove and open
our sacks to see what wae inside under the
drawing so most parents
brought us to town for this event.
In 1946 I was snowed in at the George
Hughes home along with my brother Frosty
and others. Betty and I passed our time by
posing on the huge snow banks in some moth
eaten wool bathing suits. We had a lot of fun
but I always felt sorry for Thelma for putting
up with us singing, arguing and playing
gnrnes. I enjoyed it more as I didn't have to
milk cows. Joan
four miles to our house to catch the school bus
those who help themselves".
FAMILY
Shirley's sons and their families were very
important in their lives. Randy and Karen
have a daughter and son and live in Lamar,
was snowed in
atthe Mullens
south of town also for two weeks.
While in high school I played on the VFW
Basketball team and we won chnmpionship
in 1949 with Fosha Gorton coaching. I loved
sports and when in California Darlene and I
played on
a softball tenm and won city
shsmpionship.
I married Claude Rogers, son of Alvena
Rogers Chubbuck on Sept. 19, 1950. We
moved to Kansas City where Clifford and
Benny Hughes lived until the big flood of
1951. We lived in Denver, Arriba, and
Wichita, Kansas where Claude died in Sept.
1956. Two children John Roland and Cecilia
Annette were born to us. I moved to Reseda,
California in December, 1956, after my sieter
called and said they were swimming and the
roses were blooming. We were in the midst
of a bad ice storm. I married Willian Guy
Noel in 1960. We have three children,
Christopher Ernest, Todd Alan and Guyla
Mae. Bill was Chief Petty officer in the U.S.
Navy and while working on recruiting duty
in 1962 in Denver he adopted John and
Annette. I remained at home until the
children were raised. I was a room mother, 4H leader, PTA member and active in the
R.L.D.S. church. I attcnded college taking
fun courses. Bill retired as a Master Chief
from the Navy in 1966 aftpr 30 years and went
to work in Aerospace. He had been with
Hughes Aircraft for the past 17 years. I went
to work outside the home in 1980 and truly
enjoy it.
John had four children John, Jacob, Joseph and Kristina. He is with the postal
service in Portland, Oregon after serving nine
years in the U.S. Marine Corps. Annette is a
school teacher in the Los Angeles school
system and is married to Chris Caldwell.
They have two girls Melissa Nicolle and
Amanda Noel CaldwellChristopher is in construction work and
has one son Ryan Christopher Noel. Todd
married Cheri Swenson in October 1987. He
works with the largest catering company in
California and caters parties in many celebrities homes. Guyla manied Dan Caldwell in
1983, who ig in the U.S. Air Force and, they
have two daughters, Elizabeth and Heather.
He is Annette's husband's brother. They are
stationed in Louisiana.
We stilllive in CanogaPark, California, but
I come "Home" to Seibert every time I can
to see old friends. As the saying goes, "You
can take the girl out of the country, but you
can't take the country out of the Girl."
by Dorothy (Akere) Noel
�an active leader and took the scouts down the
AKERS ZUCIJELKOWSKI
Colo.rado River every year
in
canoes. My
family participated one year. He hiked to the
top of Mt. Whiten many times with the
FAMILY
F15
Darlene Marie Akers was born at Seibert.
Colorado, January L4, lg25 and graduated
from Seibert, High School in ig+2. She
moved to Denver and went to Business
Qollege and then worked at Buckley Field in
Civil Service. For a short time she lived in
Van Nuys, California before returning in
1946, to teach at Fair Haven north ofSeibert.
then returning to Denver to work at Fitzsimmons Army Hospital where she met and
gar-rig$ Army Master Sergeant Vernon Ray
Zuchelkowski. They traveled to many bases
before his retirement in 1968 in Reseda.
California where they bought their home and
were rearing their three children, pamela
Kay, Vernie Rae, and Nancy Marie. Darlene
worked for Rockwell International until her
retirement in 1983. Her husband died in
scouts. He continues to work with them. Both
of his sons achieved Eagle Scouts by the age
of fourteen. Liz enjoyed going with the famiiv
down into the Grand Canyon and they
continue to go each year for their vacation.
Harry was an avid reader in school and
continues to read huge smounts of books. He
attended college in California and works for
General Dynnmigg in San Diego where they
live. He is active in the union at Generil
Dynamiss. Their sons are married and live in
southern California.
by Dorothy (Akers) Noel
ALLEN - WAGONER
FAMILY
Fl7
1967.
While teaching at Seibert, she was active
in the R.L.D.S. church and organized
the
youth ofthe church. She is still active in the
church and youth work. Her home is open to
all and is seldom silent or empty. White in
high school she was active in church and 4-H
town to be in the band. She could hear a song
once and then play it on the piano. She was
g yery good softball pitcher in Denver,
Indianapolis and Los Angeles. She coached
and pitched the team sponsored by Rockwell
International in California to City Championship in 1957.
Her children: Pamela lives near her in
Reseda, California. Vernie Rae mauied Tom
Kgnt and they have an adopted son Jason
Thorq'as. Nancy ig married to Larry Norris
q1d has three children; Jackie, Mathew, and
Sierra. Larry works for the U.S. Forestrv
Department in Louisiana
Darlene spends as much time with her
children as poseible. She has shared her home
yth ganV people in need of a place to stay
for a short or lengthy time; she enjoys cooking
and entcrtaining.
by Dorothy (Akers) Noel
before Jack's arrival. They stayed
Genoa area.
Times were hard and Jack lost everything
farming, so on August b, lg3g, Jack and Earj
Toveg to-Seibert, Colorado and opened up
the old A.V. Jessee Garage. (Later caled ttre
Allen Garage). Grace stayed on the farm at
Genoa, temporarily with her chickens, etc.
Later, Ed Knowland, with his 1929 Chewolet
truck, moved Grace, with her belongings, to
Seibert. Jack and Earl had a total of a'Uout
$1q00 between them, so stopped at the bank
at-Flaglerto get change for the cash register.
Bill and Clarence Rowley, who owneil the
Genoa Oil Company financed them by deliverjng gasoline, oil and tires on consiglnment.
dcposits and paid for the inventory and tools
that wele in the garage. They keptihe garage
open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The-re
was a little room behind the office where thev
Allens on vacation at Seibert about l94g by Martin
Joh-nson home: Front, left to right: Virginia Rose
Mullen, Mary Christie Allen, -Grace
lJbn
Martin Johnson; Back row: Virginia
Mullen, Earl Allen and Jack Allen.
Jack H. Allen, born
in
and
Christie
Green Castle.
Missouri, on September B, 18gl and Grace
Irene Wagoner, born in Boonville, North
Caroline, on October 30, 1890, were united in
marriage on August 21, lg1g, at Marshall-
took turns sleeping at night. After about a
year, they were able to hire a man to work
nights.
Several people had tried to make the
garag-e pay,
after A.V. Jessee passed away,
but they all gave up because times were so
hard. Earl will never forget that on about the
first night in Seibert, J.E. Andre made this
remark: "I will give you one month in this
garage and you will be under like the ones
before you". Earl never did tell Jack of this
because he felt that Jack had enough worries
and didn't need any more. Anyway, as
SARAGE.
AKERS, HAROLD
F16
My brother Harold Dean Akers was born
on August 18,1927 in Seibert, Colorado and
graduated from Englewood, Colorado High
School in 1946. While in high school f,e
participated in football and wrestling where
he won many awards. He was activJ in the
R.L.D.S. Church as a youth. He served in the
U.S. Navy and while in New York met his
r:r:ttil
wife Elizabeth and was manied after he
moved to California. They have two sons,
Nicky Dena and Paul.
While his boys were in scouting he becnme
u"b
"
short time at the original destination, movine
to a farm north of Genoa, Colorado. In th6
years to follow, three moves were made in the
They, the Rowleys, also paid thJir first
month's rent in advance, made the meter
club, where she raised pigs, black angus cattle
and in home economics. She participatcd in
V.S. Fitzpatrick's band and was gifted in her
music and continues to play the piano and
sing in the church choir. She played the
clarinet that was borrowed from the Art
Miller family and had to walk four miles to
town, Iowa. They traveled to Jack,s sister,s
home in Burley, Idaho, for their honeymoon.
They returned to Iowa and farmed near
Greene. To this union, one son, C. Earl Allen.
was born on June 3, 1912.
In March 1921, Jack and Grace sold their
farm in Iowa and moved to a place near Hugo,
Colorado. Jack moved on an emigrant traIn,
with his horses, stopping at intervals to feed
and water the animals. Grace and Earl moved
on the passenger train, so arrived several davs
Jack and Grace Allen in front of garage they operated in seibert, taken 198?.
it
�turned out, Elbert Andre, bless his heart, was
wrong and Jack and Earl made it go, we-re out
of de-bt and bought a new 85 h.p' Ford from
Leon Lavington in 1937.
In
abouf 1940, uPon graduation from
business college, Earl bec"me Town Clerk
and Treasurerbf Seibert. Then, a few months
later, he was appointed Town Marshall, in
addition. World War II broke out and on
March 24,Lg42,Earl went into the Army Air
Force. Fortunately, he got back home safely
and was discharged on August 30, 1945.In the
meantime, Earl and Mary Christie had been
going together and engaged, so on September
Z, 1945, were married at Lawrence, Kansas.
Fier parents, Mitchel and Ada Christie, had
movCd from Seibert to Baldwin City, Kansas,
during the war.
In about 1942, Jack became manager ofthe
Seibert Equity Co-op and remained until the
Allen family moved back to Iowa, in 1947.
There, Jack and Earl worked at the John
Deere Tractor Works and Mary at the Iowa
Public Service Company. Earl later became
a City Letter Carrier and retired from that
in December 1978.
Jack passed away December 18, 1963 and
Grace on March 25, L982.
Earl and Mary presently (November 198?)
are enjoying retirement and reasonably good
health in Waterloo, Iowa. Their daughter,
Kristi Allen, is a Registered Nurse and works
at the Allen Memorial Hospital, in Waterloo,
Iowa.
by C. Earl Allen
weather was nice I would walk. Later on when
my sister started to school, we had a buggy
to ride in.
I remember one night before Thanksgiving
we had a heavy snow and school was postpo-
ned until the roads could be traveled. Aunt
Martha was going to get married in Denver
to George Fisher. My mother took my brother
George and me along. [t took four horses on
a wagon because of the deep snow to take us
to Stiatton to get on the train. We stayed at
the hotel managed by Mr. and Mrs. George
Elsey. This was the first time I had seen
Delestial, the girl I later married. I remember that she was very pretty and she was two
years old and I was seven. Early the next
morning aboutS:00 a.m. the train came in and
I was standing between the depot and the
train tracks; when the engine came by I would
have fallen over backwards if someone had
not caught me. It was the biggest moving
thing I had ever seen.
WL did not see my aunt get married as they
got in a hurry and got married without us.
Mother and I thought it was a dirty trick not
to wait for us.
After dad's folks were all moving back to
Franklin County, Nebraska, he thought it
would be nice for us to try and trade our
property for a place back there. In July of
fgfl we had a chance to trade our place for
a farm near Riverton, Nebraska.
We had a large sale in August to get rid of
the many things we would not need on the
Nebraska place' We shipped a car of furniture and farm machinery. We had to haul
part of the things in wagons and drove the
horses to St. Francis, Kansas. The
reason for this was to get on the Burlington
Railroad so we would not have to reload at
iattle and
AMMAN, ALBERT
AND DELESTIAL F18
In 1901 grandfather again got the
"Western Fever" as homesteads were plentiful in Colorado and some of the children were
old enough to file on a homestead. So once
more they headed WEST. My father, Herman Amman, filed on the place where Phillip
Stolz and family are living now north and
west of Bethune, Colorado. My grandfather
bought a relinquishment one and % mile
souih of us. A relinquishment is buying the
rights of a person who had homesteaded and
had made some improvements and wanted to
sell. We moved to Colorado in April of 1902.
Herman Amman was born on SePtember
4,L872 in Bremer County, Iowa and his wife,
Auguste Peter Amman was born on January
30, 18?5 in Johannstadt, Germany. Their
children are Albert G. born on September 18,
1901 in Ash Grove, Nebraska; Viola Amman
Barrett born on December 4, 1903 at Bethune; Lillie Amman Hattan born October
23, 1905 at Bethune; George C. born August
?, 190? at Bethune; Louis C. Amman born
August 8, 1909 at Bethune; and Freda
Amman Scarpace born November 21, 1915 at
Riverton, Nebraeka.
of 1907 Albert started to
Union school. My first teacher was Mrs.
In
September
Hayes. She had her sister Miss Sprague to
stay and live with her in the school house.
ThLy had a folding bed which thev would let
down each evening and put it up early the
next morning before school took up. Some
times my father would bring me to school on
horseback but most of the time when the
Norton, Kansas from the Rock Island Rail-
road. We had some very good neighbors who
helped us move.
We lived on the place at Riverton until
1920 when Dad bought a place near Naponee,
Nebraska. We moved again.
I came back out to Bethune and Kit Carson
County in 1926 and farmed with Gus Adolf.
I located Delestial Humphrey in the summer
of 1926 and we continued going together. We
were married
on
SePtember
7,
L927 in
Goodland, Kansas. Our family consists of;
Albert G. Amman born on September 18'
1901
in Franklin County Nebraska and
Delestial Humphrey born on September 16,
1906 in Jackson County Missouri. Our children are Ivan Robert Amman born on July
28, 1929; Gene DoYle Amman born on
February 26, 1931, both born in Greeley,
Colorado. Maureen Amman Fellger born on
August 3, 1933 and Delos Albert Amman
born on December 17, 1935, both in Bethune
Colorado.
We lived and farmed one mile east of the
Lutheran church north of Bethune. Our
real good and the ice was very slick. Here I
come about thirty miles per hour and the
front end of the car caught the edge of the
snow drift throwing the car end for end and
upsetting
it on top of a snow bank. It
I did not have time to get
first time I had rolled the
It
was
the
scared.
windows to get out of the car. I had money
(stamp money) all over the car as I had not
happened so fast
closed the box that contained the stamps and
change.
There were many times in the thirties and
I started out on the route and
the wind would come up and the dust was so
bad that I could not see the road and hoped
that someone else would not be coming up the
road and have a collision. I am truly thankful
that never happened.
On October 18, 1.966 I started out with the
mail. It was cloudy and misting. When I had
driven several miles it started to rain and
when about half over the route it started to
snow. I stopped at the Post Office and left
what mail I had picked up and picked up the
mail that came in as the mail truck was late
that morning. I thought that it was not too
bad to take care of the south half of the route.
I got to the south end and started west when
it got worse. I made it to Leonard Beeson's
place and going north when the wind came
up blowing about sixty miles per hour and
snowing so I couldn't see anything and the
wind blew me in the ditch. They had had rain
earlier and the blow dirt was very slick. I was
stuck so I stayed in the car until the storm
let up and then I walked down to Leonard
Beeson's to get help to pull my car on the
road. Lucky for me when I got down there
Len was home and putting chains on his
pickup. He had come down to the place that
morning to take care of the cattle. He pulled
my car up on the road and I came here'
Albert and Delestial are active members
forties when
of
Immanuel Lutheran Church north of
Bethune since 192?. He was elected to the
board council and served several years. Later
he was elected Chairman of the church board
and served for three years from l97L-73.
Albert served as secretary of the Bethune
School board, District #24 and'also served as
secretary of District I in Bethune for several
years. He served on the town board of
Bethune from 1937 to 60 and was elected
Mayor of the Town of Bethune in 1970-82.
Albert was a member of AF and AM Lodge
#77 of Burlington.
Albert carried mail out of Bethune, Colorado from 1936 to 1965 on Rural Route #2
and when Routes #1 and #2wete combined
he carried mail from 1965 to 1971 for a total
of 35 years retiring in 1971.
Albert and Delestial are still living in the
home in Bethune where they raised their
children. Delestial spent her years managing
the home and making many quilts and also
nearest neighbors were Frank and Mary
helping Martha Weiss and Mrs. Minnie
Chalfant with the repairing and dressing of
dolls that were collected for distribution to
moved into the town of Bethune that year.
An incident that happened on the route on
December 24, L968 was this. We had a
blizzatd a few days before which left some
deep drifts and the county maintainer had
wenl through once and the weather warmed
up. A truck loaded with a tank of water had
wlnt through the evening before to water the
livestock located a mile north of Duaine
Beeson's place. The night was very cold-and
froze real hard. The next day it warmed up
the less fortunate.
Kramer. Albert started to carry mail on
Route 2 south of Bethune in 1936 so they
by Albert Amman
�AMMAN, KARL
GOTTLOB
on November 12, 1893 in Franklin County
Nebraska and died on February 22,1956 in
Fr9
My Great Grandfather Karl Gottlob A'nmannan{ family lefttheir home in Memmingen, Bavaria Gerpany on April 4, 1850 for
America. They sailed from the harbor at
Bre4en, Germany to Ellis Igland, New Ygrk.
After being cleared by customs they took a
boat to Albany, New York, then took a train
to Buffalo, New York. From there they took
a boat to Saginaw, Michigan. From there they
traveled by wagon to the new colony of
Frankenhilf. This colony wqs several miles
distant from Saginaw. Rev. Loehe's putpose
for establishing colonies was to bring the poor
people from Germany to America and give
th€m a new start and a better life for
themselves. Rev. Loehe always drea-ed of
becoming a miesionary to the Indians. My
Nebraska.
Grandpa.rents A'nman and family had
been living near Maxfield, Bremer County,
Io-wa for several years whe4 they decided to
move to Franklin County Nebraska. Land fqr
t-he takiTrg and iqproving besides sorne of the
children could also take homesteads. They
lived on their homestead near Ash Grove,
Nebraska. Grqndfather Amman helped to
erganize the Turkey Creek St. Paul's Lu-
theran Church. In 1901 they moved to
Colorado and in 1909 returned to Nebragka.
by Albrert A-mmen
ANDERSON FAMILY
F20
great grandfather was the foreman or leader
of this mission and with great sacrifice
established the Frankenhilf colony in Michigan in 1850.
After a few years ofbuilding log houses and
clearing the land for planting crops some of
nal differences, in 1883 they decided to go to
Iowa City, Iowa but found more suitable
surroundings near Strawberry Point. They
bought land near where St. Sebald's Church
was later built. They built a log building on
t-he land to live in and also used it for cbwch
purposes.
Great Grandfather Karl Gottlob Ammann
gen, Germany. He married Christina Keller
in Memmingen and their children are great
aunt Anna Amman Schuchmann born on
A\rgust 2, L84L; grandfather Gottlob Karl
Ainmann born on November 4, 1843 and
great aunt Katherine Ammann Krebs born
on April 18, 1&t8 all in Memmingen, Germany.
Grandfather Gottlob
Karl
Ammann
married Elizs[s65 Groseman on April 10,
1866. These are their children; Charles
Gottlieb Amman born on May 10, 1867 in
Bremer County, Iowa and died on July 21,
L924 in Nebraska; Paul Georg Amman born
Jvne 22,1869 in Brepmer County Iowa and
died on April 4, L947 in Nebraska; Herman
Gottfried Amman born on $epteqber 4, 1872
and died on July 16, 1934 in Colorado; Mary
Memphis, Tennessee,
In 1894, Cyrus & Lula and their one year
old daughter, Winnie Augusta, left Illinois,
and traveled by wagon to eastern Colorado to
claim a homestead Cyrus had selected some
months earlier. The homestead was located
3 7z miles west of Flagler. The Andersons
soon realized the flat terrain of their homestead was not ideal for ranching, so traded for
land eight miles northwest of Flagler on the
Buffalo Creek. Here the Diemond-Bar-A
Ranch was born, and Cy & Lula Anderson
settled in to raising their family and a notable
herd of Black Angus cattle. Other children
born to Cyrus & Lula in addition to Winnie
A., the eldest, were Nina R., Dewey L., Abner
E., J. Keith, and Paul D. All the Anderson
children born to Cyrus & Lula in addition to
Winnie A., the eldest, were Nina R., Dewey
I., Abner E., J. Keith, and Paul D. All the
Ander$on children received their elementary
education at the rural school known as the
"Huntley School" north of Flagler, west of
the Thurman Road. Winnie & Nina were in
the first graduation classes when the Flagler
educ.ation system offered a ten year high
gchool. Both Winnie & Nina later obtained
teacher certificates and taught in the Flagler
rural schools for several years.
the people got digsatisfied. Because of doctri-
was born on September L2,L8L2 in Memmin-
child, Lula's family moved to a farm near
Sod house ofCyrus J. Anderson and Lulu Anderson
viewing in a Southwest direction, six miles north
and two and one half miles west of Flagler,
Colorado.
Cyrus J. Anderson was born February 6,
1863, at Alta Pass, Illinois, the child of Amos
J. Anderson & Lourinda Keith Anderson. As
a young man, Cyrus worked on the Mississippi floating logs from Alta Pass to Memphis. He met Lula Lee Moore at Memphis,
and on March 14, 1886, they were married at
Leaners, Arkansas. Lula Lee was born the
child of David C. & Sarah S. Moore on
November 25, L867, in Georgia. As a young
;t-.
f
Cyrus & Lula Anderson were a strong part
in helping establish many of Flagler's organizations. In addition to the school system, they
were organizers and members of the Congregational Church, the Masonic Lodge and
Eastern Star. Lula was also instrumental in
organizing the church's "Ladies Aid" and a
rural organization made up of ranching and
farming families and known as the "Country
Club."
Cyrus & Lula operated their ranch until
the death of Cyrus in L927. Lula continued
ownership of the ranch until her death in
1936. By the mid 1930's all the Anderson
children had moved from the Flagler area
with the exception of Winnie. In
1915
Winnie
was married to W. Aubrey Walker who lived
north of Seibert on his homestead. Aubrey &
Winnie resided in the Seibert area untillgz?.
[t was during those years their four children
were born. The eldestchild, Dale Aubrey, was
born in 1920 at the old Anderson Homestead
-.."I *-*'.*'*'irf
Amman Worsham born gn April 21, 1874 in
Bremer Iowa and died on March 28, 1955 in
Nebraska; Anna Amman Etherton born on
February 23, L876 in Bremer County Iowq
and died on September 10, 1930 in Nebraska;
Emma Amman Kleber born August 5, 1878
in Bremer County Iowa and died on MaJ 22,
1913 in Colorado; Albert Frederick Amman
born on August 17, 1880 in Frauklin Couniy
Ne.braska ind died on July 1?, 1S56 in
Migsouri; Bertha Anman Hackenberger born
on July 21, 1883 in Franklin County, Nebraska and died on May 1, 1940 in Miosouri;
Martha Anman Fisher born on July 9, 1EE4
ip Franklin County Nebraska and died on
January 13, 1981 in Oregou Nannie A:nman
Kleber born on August 23, 1889 in Franklin
Cgunty Nebraska and died on IVIay 3, L974
in Washington; Amanda Amman Sindt born
on October 12, 1891 in
Fra.a-kl.in Coupty
Nebraska aud died on January 31, 1945 iri
Nebraska; Frederick Gottfried Anqman born
faken in front of Cyrus and Lulu's
sod house. Far left: Aubrey Walker and Winnie Andergon Walker. Far
Right: Cyrus J. Anderson. Teken about 1915.
�Western Kansas. They received many trophies for Grand Champion bronco rider.
Another form of entertainment was going
to the dance held at Hale, Colorado. It was
a good place to see their friends. Reuben met
a registcred nurse, Anne Irene Shirley, who
had just completed her training at St. Lukes
Hospital in Denver, Colorado and planned to
work in the area. Anne's sister, Vera Cody,
her husband fuch, and their children played
the music for the dance. Reuben and Anne
were married in Goodland, Kansas on July
sod house northwest of Flagler. K. Lavon was
born in 1921 at the Walker Homestead north
of Seibert, as was Helen O., who died when
less than two years of age. Nina Lou, the
youngest, was born at Seibert in L927.
Early 1928 found Aubrey & Winnie living
on the Anderson Homestead following the
death of Winnie's father, Cyrus Anderson.
The Walkers operated the Anderson Ranch
for only a few years before purchasing their
own ranch-farm which connected to the
Anderson ranchland. In 1943, Aubrey &
Winnie sold their farm holdings and moved
to Flagler where Aubrey began employment
for Fruhling Motor Co., a
Chewolet agency. He held this position until
as a bookkeeper
24, r93r.
Reuben and Viola Anderson on their wedding day,
April 29, 1946, in Goodland, Kansas. Archie and
Juanita Anderson accompanied them.
he retired at the age of 85.
Aubrey, Winnie & their children continued
the "Anderson" involvement in the Flagler
Community. In addition to the church and
lodge, this involvement was expressed
through organizations that included the
Town Board, Flagler Development Association, Lions Club,4-H Club, scouting and not
the least, the school and its many activities
including membership on the Board of
My story of the Anderson dates back to
1887 when Anders and Maria Anderson
homesteaded north of Burlington on the
Colorado-Kansas border, moving there from
Bohulsem, Sweden. They are the parents of
Oscar Anderson who married Nettie Latelia
Anderson on January 2, 1899.
Nettie's parents and grandparents were
Directors.
also born in Sweden. When she was 1% years
Winnie Walker passed away June 4, 1961,
and Aubrey died October 25, 1981.
As Flagler nears its centennial mark, the
Anderson-Walker family have shared in the
joys & sorrows, and the trials & successes of
old she went to live with her grandparents,
this community through most of the century.
AT this writing, Mr. Paul Anderson,
youngest of the children of Cyrus & Lula
Anderson is the last living member to hold
the family name in this Anderson Lineage.
The family line continues at Flagler through
Reuben Charley, was the oldest child, born
Pat & Lou (Walker) Ford and their son's
family, Tony & Debbie Ford. Living in
nearby Limon, Colorado, are Dale & Betty
Walker and their two sons and their wives,
Dale Jr. & Dawn. and John & Cheri Walker.
Living in Colorado Springs is Wilbur &
Lavon (Walker) Keeran.
by Dale A. \Malker
ANDERSON FAMILY
I.2l
Charlotta Katherina and Anders Gustar
Anderson, because her mother had died.
They moved by covered wagon to north of
Kanorado in 1888 and also homesteaded.
February 27, L902. He attended "Beaver
Valley" country school as long as he could,
but when there was work to do at home he
stayed home and helped his father. He rode
his horse to school. The first year was very
difficult because his parents talked Swedish
and English, Reuben confused the languages
and the other children would laugh at him.
So the family decided to speak English only,
but his mother still sang Swedish songs and
played the accordion for her family.
Oscar's brother Otto had a grocery store in
Kansas City, Kansas. Oscar's family sent
milk, crenm and butter by train to be sold in
Otto's store. They also raised corn, husking
it by hand.
During the 1920's Reuben and his brother
Archie enjoyed riding in the rodeos held in
the communities of Kit Carson County and
Anne was the daughter of Adelbert and
Anna (Denker) Shirley of Brewster, Kansas.
Del's family were originally from England
and Anna's from Germany.
Reuben and Anne purchased a farm 21
miles north-east of Burlington for $12.50 per
acre in 1932. They were interested in the
community of Beaver Valley, being involved
with the Soil Conservation District
and
practicing the latest improved farming methods. Reuben loved the land and working hard.
They were active in 4-H work. Anne helped
organize the Happy Hours Home Demonstra-
tion Club in 1935.
Their four children were born during the
depression: Jim, Kathryn, Charlene and
Dick, all later marrying into local farm
families. Jim married Gwendolyn, daughter
of George and Thelma Andrews. Kay married
Gene, son of Carl and Mary Morgan. Charlene married Bill, son of Earl and Josephine
(Nohr) Jemes. Dick married Janice, daughter
of Bernard and Louise Conrardy.
In 1940 they kept a record of all their
expenses and their income from the milk,
cream eggs (at 8 cents a dozen), pigs, crops
of oats and wheat and it totaled out to the
seme emount of $1,700.00.
Also. in the 1940's Reuben and his friend
Sam Morrow purchased a Minneapolis
threshing machine from Reuben's brother
Ivan for $350.00. They used it in the neighborhood to custom thresh all ofthe fall crops.
While the neighborhood men harvested, the
women would prepare the noon meal for the
whole crew. Everyone enjoyed this time
together eating, laughing and joking.
Anne was seriously burned in a butane gas
explosion in their cellar; she died February
26, L943 at the Hayee General Hospital in
Burlington. Reuben endured many hardships
to keep his family together but never complained.
All of the neighbor ladies gave a helping
hand, washing,ironing, cleaning, mending
and also canning the meat, fruit and vegetablee. Their love qrill never be forgotten by
the fanily.
On April 29, L946, Reuben wae unit€d in
marriage to ViolaElizabeth, daughterof Emil
and Pauline (Grnmm) Schaal, who lived
north of Burlington. The Schaal's and
Gramm's were a part of the settlement that
cayne from Russia in 1898 and settled north
of Bethune, near the Republican River. A
Nettie Anderson with their family in October 1931 on their homestead on the Colorado-Kansas
border, daughter Helen, eon Ivan, son Rueben and his wife Anne, son Archie and his wife Juanita and their
children Loranell and Darrell. Stella, another daughter and family were not present.
Oecar and
daughter, Lola Mae, and a son, Paul Dean,
were born to this marriage. Lola married
Walter Cary of Springfield and Paul married
Mary Louise Cheseny, also of Springfield,
Missouri.
In 1949 Reuben was elected as one of the
Kit Carson County Commiesioners, serving
a four year term. During his tenure and Kit
Carson County Memorial Hospital was opened, the remodeling of the court house was
completed, new cattle-chutes were built at
�the county fairgrounds and some county
ANDRE, JOHN
ELBERT
roads were asphalted.
Reuben departed this life on May 11, 1984'
a proud Grandpa of his sixteen granddaughters, five gtandsons and eleven great-grand-
children. He always caried a little blackbook, and in it he list€d aI of the grandchild-
F23
John Elbert fuld1e sems to Colorado in
south of Ruleton, Kansas.
1910 to take a homestead of 320 acres north
of Flagler. He built a two room frnme house.
January 20, LgL2 he married Berniece Elsie
Wynne in Hugo, Colorado by a Judge by the
a cattle ranch. Another sister Helen married
Melvin Sall. They own and farm a place
between her parents homest€ad and Reuben's place. Ivan, another brother still lives
Kerl of Stratton,
ren.
His brother Archie passed away in February of 1984. Archie's family still lives 10 miles
A sister Stclla
Weller lives near Kadoka, South Dakota on
on the "Old Anderson Homestead".
by Kathryn Anderson Morgan
ANDERSON McCONNELL FAMILY
r.22
name of Miles. They drove their team of one
horse and blind mare hitched to his buggy to
his home north of Flaglsl smid snow and ice.
They had three children, daughter Gladys
Colorado, Son George
Robert of Mesa, Arizona, a daughter Leora
Mae, now deceased.
Their crops weren't much that first year.
They ate a lot of corn bread and beans.
Selling the homestead they moved to
Colorado Springs where Elbert worked at
different jobs returning to Flagler some time
in 1918 where they farmed. Then in the 20's
Elbert taught the Dazzling Valley School in
District 14. At one time he also taught the
Mount Pleasant School.
One of our former citizens, Fabe Anderson,
is the only one of my knowledge, to go to the
I
have not been able to get much
first-hand knowledge about his trip' So many
of those times are gone, as is Fabe and his
Klondike.
wife.
In
1886 George Carmack of
lllinois discov-
ered gold in the region of Dawson, near the
Klondike River, which flows into the Yukon
River in Alaska. It created quite a lot of
excitement and a nrrmber of gold seekers
traveled there to try their luck. Dawson is in
Canada, but mostpersons went to Alaska. We
have not been able to dig up a good story of
his trip. We do know he went and his son Carl
remembers, he met up with some man from
California on his travels and they made the
journey together. Carl has a gold ring with the
inscription of Nome on it. That is the western
point ofAlaska, not far from Russia, probably
called Siberia then. The ring has a small
amount of alloy in it so Carl cannot wear it
much,
it
is to soft.
It was in 1897, that so many gold seekers
flocked there, and in that year two million
dollars in gold was taken from there in the
form of nuggets and grains. Since the price
of gold has gone down it has not encouraged
such prospecting. It is mostly in a free etate
and obtained by washings.
What an interesting story that would have
been off his hardships, disappointments and
adventures.
He married Del McConnell after he cnme
back from the Klondike. They homesteaded
on a place one half mile from his wifes parents
home. to this union five children were born,
Geneva, Ina, Carl, Shelly, and Wilma. All the
children grew up and married and left the
county except one son Carl who settled in
Burlington, Colo.
His wife paased away in 1937 leaving Fabe
with a family to raise. He later left the county
with his younger children to seek work
elsewhere.
He was brought back to the county where
he was laid to rest begide his wife in
Claremont Cemetery, Stratton, Colo.
by Dessie Cassity
To have a certificate to teach he borrowed
books from the County Superintendent to
study. Elbert and Arthur Rob went to
Burlington and took the teachers examination which made them eligible to teach.
After the children were out of grade school
the family moved into town in Flagler for
them to attend High school. Elbert worked
in the grocery store for Bob Brian.
After some years and other places Elbert
and Berniece returned to their beloved
Flagler to retire and spend their remaining
years,
by Gladys Kerl
(Marchant) Andrews, parents of Edith Francis
Lightle, Grandparents of Harold Lightle, Great
Grandparents of James and Jerry Lightle.
fire. The cow chips were the hard sun-dried
droppings of the cattle herds and remaining
buffalo that roamed the prairie land. Many
a good loaf of bread was baked by the hot
fires.
In those old days, when they butchered,
it in stone
they would fry the meat and put
jars, pouring grease over it. Sausage was made
into patties, fried and stored in crocks filled
with lard.
Illnesses were treated
with
homemade
remedies. Only during the most severe illnesges, was a doctor summoned.
ANDREWS FAMILY
F24
Edward Andrews was born February
Edward Leoan Andrews and Buelah Molinda
1,
L874, at Gage County, Nebraska, to Addison
and Lucretia (Hamilton) Andrews. On February 24, 1896, he was united in marriage to
Their daughter, Edith, married Curtis
Lightle, February 16, 1926, and raised a
family of fifteen children: Francis, Eva,
William, Harold, Erma, Vera, Franklin,
David, Carl, Elmer, Margaret, Linda, Matilda and Larry, one son died at birth. Edith
still lives on a farm near the old homestead
Beulah Marchant, near Emporia, Kansas.
Edward and Beulah came west in a covered
wagon on their honeymoon and settled
southeast of Hale, Colorado, near Jakeway,
Kansas. Edward's parents and family came
from Kansas at the same time, and they
played for dances on their way out to pay
and five of her children, William, Harold (my
husband), Carl, Elmer and Larry reside in Kit
their expenses. Edward played the violin and
played for many dances in the BurlingtonIdalia area.
Around 1898 he took a homestead about
five miles north of the Republican River in
Yuma County. He proved up on his homest€ad and about 1916 he took a timber claim
12 miles northeast of Stratton, Colorado. He
lived here several years proving up on the
timber claim. He then sold this and moved
to Dresden, Kansas and Missouri for a short
time. In about 1926 he moved his family back
to Burlington, Colorado, where they spent
ARMISTEAD FAMILY
their remaining years.
Edward and Beulah had a familY of 12
children, Marion, Maude, Reva, Florence,
Leon, Elridge, Hazel, Edith, Elizabeth, Dorothy, Gilbert and Mazie.
Times were hard, and the big wood cookstoves burned cow chips which made a good hot
Carson County.
by Eilene Kreoger Lightle
F25
On a bleak March day in 1932 Charles and
Alma Armistead with their five oldest children, Irene, Phillip, Bonnie, Elizabeth, and
Charlene moved from the economically depressed Dust Bowl of western Kansas to the
same kind of environment thirtpen miles
north and three miles east of Flagler; from a
large farm home near Goodland to a tworoom basement. I recall neighbors gossiping
that Mother must be out of her mind to move
anice white ena-el babycrib intosuch agrim
abode. However, that crib became the first
bed of four other children. Sometimes, the
new baby lived in a laundry basket; sometimes in a daintily lined box. Jim, Jerry,
Shirley, and Juanita were all born at home
�small rooms, but a mansion to us. That place
was a half mile from the Leseberg farm where
Ralph and Elizabeth (Armietead) now reside.
a mile east of Flagler and
then into town. Duringthose years Dad drove
After that to a place
a truck for the DLS (Denver-Limon-Bur-
lington) truck lines, delivered gas and oil for
the Co-op, janitored for the high school.
By 1957 the nest was empty except for me.
When I went to teach in Calif. I incuned a
spinal cord injury causing permanent paralysis. I was lovingly nursed and nurtured by a
caring family and supportive community for
eleven years until I was admitted to Craig
Hospital in Denver for rehabilitation. When
I began to work there in 1962, Mother and
Dad moved to Denver to be with me. I am now
retired. Each of us has gone in a different
direction. Aftcr serving in the Navy during
World War II, Philmoved to NewYorkwhere
he married, worked for the telephone com-
a dairy. Bonnie
married J.C. Conrad who farmed near Flagler
before moving to the Denver area. Elizabeth
pany and later bought
-f,
The Armieteads, 1956: Back row - left to right: Bonnie, Charlene, Jim, Jerry, Phil, Juanita; Front row
left to right: Shirley, Alma, Irene, Charles, Elizabeth.
and delivered by Dr. Neff or Dr. Reed, usually
agsisted by Gerda Huntzinger. At that time,
it was believed new mothers should stay in
bed for two weeks. When Shirley was born,
I missed echool. An entry in my diary: "I
stayed home and did the work for 17 days,
scrubbed, washed, baked bread, cooked, and
kept house in general. I was 13 years old. I
bathed Shirley so sweet and kept her feet
warm with the hot water bottle."
The white ennmel baby crib was a symbol
that was typical of Mother in her endeavors
to keep that dugout cheerful and pleasant,
although life was hard raising nine children
in such a small space and on a poverty
income. Cleanliness was imperative in spite
ofour carrying water both down and up those
basement stairs. Mother used hand-me-down
clothes and flour sacks to fashion dresses
from pictures in the Montgomery Ward
catalog, cutting her own patterns from copies
of the CAPPER'S WEEKLY, our only publication in addition tathe FLAGLER NEWS.
To add to the attractiveness ofthe clothes she
embroidered a special gtitch that I have
rarely seen. Among my cherished treasures
are items with that stitch. Although food was
scarce and limited in variety, Mother used
her imagination to create all kinds of dishes
from the wild rabbits that Dad and Phil shot.
We planted large gardens. Sometimes the
hawest was successful with many vegetables
to can. Some years there were as many as 9fi)
quarts. Some years the plants succumbed to
drouth, hail, or the grasshoppers which ate
the plants into the ground.
Dad tried to farm, using horses and
inadequate machinery. Farmer after farmer
failed to produce a crop due to the extreme
drouth and a lack of knowledge of more
successful dry land farming as we know it
today. Our few cattle gtazed, on the "free
range", which ie now privately owned. Many
of them died due to dust pneumonia or
bloating from eating the young, green tumble
weeds. After the cattle had decayed and the
bones bleached, Phil and I picked up the
latter to sell to purchase roller skates which
married Ralph Conrad; they have lived
t
x,,$,,;llb
-
we used in the barn loft. All of us picked up
dried cow chips to burn for both cooking and
heating. Actually the iron cookstove served
for both. When he could, Dad was a helpmate
in assisting with the grueling household work.
He tried very hard to provide for the family.
What a blow it was to Dad's pride, when he
had to apply to work on the WPA (Works
Progress Administration). Often that meant
he was gone throughout the week as he was
assigned to other parts ofthe county building
bridges, schools, etc., which left much of
managing the home to Mother.
We lived three miles from Liberty, the
country school for all eight grades. Phil
started to school when he was very young so
I would not have to go alone. Part of the time
we took the horse and buggy, rode horseback,
walked, rode two miles with Homer Huntzinger in his Model-T Ford. How frightening
it was to be caught in a dust storm on the way
home! The barbed wire fence on either side
of the road (now it seems more like a trail)
served as a sentinel to keep us on coutse.
Liberty was the "community center" with pie
socials, literary, Sunday School, and occasionally a preacher. How pleased I felt to play
the p rmp organ.
But life was not all drudgery. We made our
fun. No plastic toys then! Playhouses in the
grainery with broken dishes, different colors
of soil for "cooking", gunny sacks for beds,
polywogs in a quartjar for goldfish, plenty of
space to draw houses or whole towns on the
barren ground, playing cards and dominoes
at the oak table. Sometimes there were trips
to town with a nickel for
around Flagler most of the time. Charlene is
manied to Lyle Garner and lives in Stratton.
She worked at the Flagler Hospital and later
at the Stratton Co-op. Shirley graduated
from University of Northern Colorado, and
married Sherman Henry. Both of them are
teachers and live in Branson, Mo. Juanita
married Tom Ellison and lives in Northglenn
where she works for the Credit Union. Jim
was killed in a crane accident in 1979. After
serving in the Navy during the Korean War,
he married Esther Schlichenmayer of Burlington. Following high school Jerry served in
the army. Upon discharge he worked in
Holyoke where he met and married Anita
Thietje. He died suddenly in L977.
Having lived hard, busy lives with a full
measure of worry, sadness, and joy, Dad died
in December, 1971 at the age of 86; Mother
died just after her 84th birthday in March,
1982. They are the forebearers of 9 children,
22 grandchildren, and 39 great-grandchildren.
by Irene Armistead
ARMSTRONG TOWERS FAMILY
My father, John Everett Armstrong,
F26
was
born in 1881, in Melbourne, Iowa. He and his
penny candy;
Sundays might be spent with neighbors.
From Dad most of us learned the joy of
reading
to escape to other times
- toForlearn,
and places.
a very special treat we could
persuade Dad to play the harp, featuring
"oldies" with which he grew up.
In 1937 when I graduated from the 8th
grade, we moved to the Jackson place to be
on the bus route so I could attend Flagler
High School where each of the nine of us
eventually went. Wow, a real house with four
John and Elizabeth Armstrong Iived in this house
in 1950. This picture was taken by Carol Wendler
later.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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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
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Book
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Families- A
Date Created
Date of creation of the resource.
1988
Description
An account of the resource
A brief history of founding families from Kit Carson County whose names begin with the letter "A." As told in the book A History of Kit Carson County
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
text
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salmons, Janice
Hasart, Marlyn
Smith, Dorothy
Language
A language of the resource
English
Is Part Of
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A History of Kit Carson County Volume 1
Format
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text/pdf
Publisher
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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>