10 10 216 https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/ca2c8434938600a9ae2198e4d9b016ef.pdf e67a8623305a8a7c72c6ab2c95d2e3c1 PDF Text Text "l 'l 'l 'J 'J 'J J J ) } J } ) ) ) ) LOUIE AND IRENE (Young) MORRIS The story of the westward movement and the adventures of America can be told in the lives of many of its families. One such family is that of James Morris who was born in Owsley County, Kentucky in 1870 and died in California in 1955. James married Laura Kate Wagoner in Arkansas in 1893. While they lived at Berryville, their son Louie was born on November 18, 1900. From there they moved to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, for a while and then went to McCloud, Oklahoma, to grow cotton. In 1908 James loaded his family and possessions in a covered wagon and headed for House, New Mexico, which is about 45 miles south of Tucumcari. The Morrises bought a claim and opened a general store handling groceries, dry goods, hardware, kerosene, etc. staying there five years. James might have stayed at House but he kept remembering stories about the San Juan Mountains the Wagoners had told. Laura's father and one of her uncles had spent a year trapping furs in the mountains north of Durango years before. After 5 years at House, James sold out-and loaded the covered wagon. By that time Louie was 12 or 13 years old. According to his memories, travel by covered wagon was not bad. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) J _) _} J _) "Our wagon was pulled by two mules which could cover about 40 miles per day if the roads were good. We carried barrels of water, bacon, flour, beans, potatoes, coffee and a few canned goods. Dad built a bed back of the wagon and a cupboard on the rear. The door of the cupboard came down on hinges to form a table top. The stretch of road from Albuquerque to Cuba was hard because of all the sand. My brother and I followed in our buggy. The trip to Tiffany took about two weeks." The Morrises operated a ranch for the Limebargers for one summer only.Then they loaded up their wagon and headed back to Arkansas. James retraced his steps back to House and went on to Amarillo. That night when the family was parked in the wagon yard, James walked up and said, "Pack up. We're going the rest of the way on the train." James had sold the wagon and team to another man. The family was in Arkansas a short time, then back to Oklahoma City where James corresponded with Mr. Pierman and Mr. Dalton, the owners of the Allison store. In 1914 The Morrises bought the store at Allison and settled there for three years. Louie recalls, "Children in school were mischievous then as well as now. I remember the time one of the boys put a bottle of ink on the pot belly stove. Pretty soon it blew up and splattered ink all over the ceiling. But as a rule we weren't any better or any worse than children are today." _} _} J ...) ...) ...) About 1915 or 1916 the farmers around Allison decided to incorporate and start their own telephone company. Every body who wanted a phone bought stock in the company. The Shanks family were the operators. Of course it was all party line. Everyone had a different ring, two longs and a short, long short long, etc. Everybody heard the rings and everybody listened in. The more who listened in, the dimmer the sound became. If a child wanted to be mischievous or if someone was talking too long, J ...) ...) J J 119 �he could place the ear piece over the mouth piece and it would make a horrible noise which would quickly clear the line. There were many traveling salesmen in those days (the people called them drummers. a name the salesmen hated). Since there was no cafe in Allison, Laura provided a place for the salesmen to buy meals. "In 1918 we sold the Allison store and moved to Twin Falls, Idaho, for one summer and then on to Portland, Oregon", Louis remembers. The Morrises were in Portland when the great flu epidemic everyone had heard so much about struck the country. Louie was working at a cooperage at the time. "I got $.50 per day for checking the barrel heads after they were sawed to make certain the beveled edge was smooth and without flaws. I rode the street car to work. During the worst of the flu epidemic the conductor would only let a few people on at a time. We stayed in Portland through one winter. That spring we returned lo Allison to buy a farm from the Scoggins (Now the place belongs to Harry Engler)." It was a big event in 1919 when James bought his first car, a 4 door Chevrolet, an open car with a canvas roof and side curtains which were kept rolled up under the seats until needed. The Morrises enjoyed their car, but not when it was muddy. There was no gravel on the roads in those days. In 1920 Louie started dating Irene Young. Irene's parents, Archie and Nancy Young, originally were farmers at McClave, Colorado, 20 miles west of Lamar. Their irrigated farm produced alfalfa and grains. In 1913 when Irene was ten, her parents sold their farm and moved to a place just across the New Mexico line south of Allison. Mr. Young built a nice two story house (The one he built was moved to Colorado before Navajo Lake was filled. It is now the Robert Cox home near Tiffany.) The Youngs stayed in New Mexico two years then traded their farm for one nearer Allison. In 1920, Irene quit school when her mother died in order to take care of her little sister, Olivia. Tragedy struck the family again in 1922. Olivia contracted diphtheria and died. Louie and Irene were married Oct. 29, 1922. For a while they lived in the house where Ella Flack now lives, then moved to 450 Browning in Ignacio where they still live. That same year Louie, his brother Anthony and their Dad each bought 1/3 interests in the Economy Store which at that lime was located where the present Sheltered Workshop is. "Dad just bought into the store to help us get started. After a year or so Anthony and I bought Dad's interest. About a year after buying the store the Morrises began selling a new product, Atwater-Kent and Philco radios. Louie remembers when his Dad first read about radios. James said, "It says here they are bringing out a machine that will pick up sound out of the air without wires. You can't believe that can you?" The first radios in Ignacio operated with batteries. There was no electricity here. People put up 100 ft. antennas. Since the air waves were not jammed with hundreds of stations, people could 120 �'1 '1 "-,-, l l ' ' ) ) } ) } ' ) ) ) ) ) ) ) pick up stations from all over the country. "We used to get KFI Los Angeles, KOA Denver and other stations as far·away as Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania." In 1927 Bill Bryan installed an electric plant on the river straight east of the Malt Shop. Louie and a number of other residents had their houses wired for electricity and hooked into the system. The power plant operated only 3 hours per day from 5:00 to 8:00 P.M. Though the hours were limited, the electric lights were quite an advance over the coal oil lamps. When he moved to town, Louie got involved in local sports. First he joined the Ute Baseball Team, then the town team. "In those days people took the town teams seriously. We played Aztec, Silverton and Pagosa. We also had Saturday Night Dances, parties, and then the movies. The Andersons and the McJunkins started the Ute Theater south of the Bank. Harry McJunkin used to play the piano at the silent movies. In 1928 the Talkies came to Ignacio. The first one starred Al Jolson." When Louie and Irene bought the first closed car in Ignacio, it created quite a stir. A lot of people said, "I wouldn't ride in that showcase. Why if you had a wreck that glass would cut you to pieces." "This country has come a long way since the First World War. We used to carry water from the town pump, heat it in a copper boiler, and light our houses with kerosene lamps. I liked the old days,." says Irene, "at least, they were less confusing than life is today. When I hear young people complaining because their electric washer isn't working right, I feel like telling them they wouldn't have that problem if they washed on a board." Shelby Smith ) ) ) ) _) _) _) _) J ...) ...) _) J J J ...) J J J ,..) ,..) 121 � 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 Shelby Smith Interviews Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource https://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-NC/1.0/?language=en Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1973-1980 Subject The topic of the resource Ignacio; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Collection of biographies, predominantly of residents from the Ignacio Senior Center, based on interviews conducted by Shelby Smith from approximately 1973 to 1980. The abridged interviews were originally published as individual entries in The Thoughtful Years newsletter, published by the Ignacio Senior Center, beginning in 1973. They were later published as a whole in Smith's book: Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley, from which the original scans in this collection have been derived. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smith, Shelby Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Louie Morris and Irene (Young) Morris Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1976-10 Subject The topic of the resource Morris, Louie; Morris, Irene (Young); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Louie Morris and Irene (Young) Morris based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the October, 1976 issue of "The Thoughtful Years" newsletter published by the Ignacio Senior Center. Later included in the book "Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley" by Shelby Smith. Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Morris, Louie; Morris, Irene (Young) Extent The size or duration of the resource. 3 pages Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/ Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smith, Shelby https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/d049294c69215f9970ac6115a19c254d.pdf 25f6f3552c5f11d93f65680fc04be86f PDF Text Text LOUISA (Shaffer) HARTIG Louisa's father was a Shaffer. Her mother was a Kinsloe whose line can be traced back to 1777. Lucy Kinsloe was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1856. Her father, John Bannister Gibson Kinsloe was a newspaper publisher in Knoxville who later moved to Lockhaven, Pennsylvania, where he published the Lockhaven Review and the Clinton Republic. Al Carlisle College in Pennsylvania Lucy met Duncan Shaffer. When they were married, Lucy and Duncan moved to Frostburg, Maryland, where the Shaffer's had a well established business. Frostburg is a small town (smaller than Durango) located in the narrow segment of western Maryland between Pennsylvania and West Virginia. This is Allegheny Mountain Country rich in the history of the Revolution and of the Civil War. "Everyplace you go is either up or down," Louisa says. Since the mountains there are rich in bituminous coal, mining was the chief industry when Louisa's parents settled in Frostburg. The quality of the coal was such that it was prized by the shipping lines for their coal burning vessels. "The whole area is underlain with a network of mine tunnels," Louisa explains. "However, the town itself was clean and neat. All the mining works were located out away from the town. My father and his brothers jointly owned the H.B. Shaffer Co. They sold dry goods, groceries, harness, millinery and household supplies. The business also had an area for grain storage, a mill and a carriage house. I remember the time years later when the old Opera House burned, It was just across the street from our business and was such a hot fire. My dad and uncles poured water on the roof of our place until the danger had passed." "My parents owned one of the historic old houses in town. It had a large front porch with pillars and seven bedrooms, but no modern conveniences - no bath, electricity, or gas. However, we had one convenience few people can afford anymore - hired help. Enzie Garletz maintained the house. She cleaned, did washing and ironing and most of the cooking. Jim Wilhelm was the handyman. He maintained the yard, brought in fuel and supplies, did repairs and took care of the horses and the buggies. Aunty Powell was the midwife who helped bring me into the world. On occasions she took care of us when my parents were away. When my brothers Henry and Francis and I were still small children, we had a goat which could pull a little red cart with a red harness. Once in a while Jim would hitch up the goat and away we would go down the alleys. I don't believe we were ever allowed on the streets with this animal." "My parents were very strict and quite old fashioned. I was never allowed to go to carnivals or Saturday night dances. I was never allowed to work in the store. Young "ladies" didn't do things like that. Being a "lady" in that lime and in that part of the country involved a whole list of "does" and "don'ts" which might seem ridiculous to most people today. Of course, not knowing any different, I accepted all the restrictions as normal and had a very happy childhood. Dad eventually sold the old house. We moved for two reasons. One was to get off Main Street. The other was to acquire plumbing, electricity and gas. It was great to have these conveniences." 74 �'J 'J 'J 'J 'J J J J l ) ) ) ' ' ) ") ') ) ) "Every year we hitched up the horses for our annual picnic at Cook's Mill, a creek and woodsy area about 10 miles north of Frostburg across the Pennsylvania line. Cook's Mill was a beautiful stream. We ate, romped in the water, ran in the woods and played games. Even though it was only 10 miles, it was an all day trip. I always felt sorry for the horses in that country - up and down hill everywhere we went." "The 4th of July was a big deal, too. Dad would buy each of us 'a poke of fireworks' and turn us loose." "When the First World War started, I was about 12 years old. Once a week the ladies and girls in Frostburg got together to knit caps and coats for the Belgian Babies." "The crash in 1929 hit our family hard as it did everyone. We got fifteen cents on the dollar for whatever was in the bank. During the years following, Dad's brothers died one by one. Finally he sold out the business. The building was bought by the Knights of Columbus and used for their meetings until it burned down a few years ago." "In High School I started dating. My boyfriends and I went to the Nickelodeon shows at the Palace and the Lyric Theaters. Sometimes we went to the Vaudeville shows at the old Opera House. When the circus came, we had to go to Cumberland to see it. This was a trip of 11 miles and down hill all the way." ) ) ) ) ) ) ) _) .J __J __J ...) ...) _) ...) ..J ....) ...) J J J J ....) ....) Louisa and Martin Hartig were married in Baltimore in 1925. For years Martin was a foreman at the Frostburg Cellunise Corporation, which manufactured artificial silk. He changed jobs during the Second World War to the Blue Ribbon Bread Co. During the war the windows of the plant were all painted black and all the homes in town had blackout drapes. Whenever the air raid alarms went off at night everything was blacked out in town. Any household showing a light was fined. The ladies in town got involved in hospital work for the war effort. ''We made stretcher pads for the battlefront out of layers of lace curtains contributed by the families in the county - and we made maroon slippers and robes for the Red Cross." "Before and after the war Martin and I did a lot of traveling. We went to Quebec, Canada, once and to Williamsburg and other points south. Martin was a big football fan . Since our town was halfway between Washington and Pittsburgh, we took our pick on the weekends of which place to go." The Hartigs have one daughter, Lucy. In 1953 Lucy and her husband became parents of twin girls, Marta and Marsha. Their grandfather, Martin, was especially proud because the girls were born on his birthday, November 1oth. When the twins were a little over two years old, their parents moved to Alamogordo, New Mexico. After a few months went by, Martin said, "What do you think about moving to New Mexico?" Louisa replied, "If that's what you want to do, let's go." "We lived in Alamogordo 10 years and liked it. At first we especially enjoyed the warm climate year round, but gradually we began to miss the changing of the seasons. When the kids moved up to Colorado, we came too, and have liked it very much. The climate and snow and changing seasons are much more like our old home in Maryland. We did 75 �a lot of traveling in the west once we lived here - to Carlsbad and Mexico and Grand Canyon and Yellowstone - all good times." Martin died suddenly on June 4, 1971. A few months later Louisa sold their home in the country and moved into Ignacio. She is an active participant in all the senior citizen's activities in this area. Every Tuesday afternoon for the past 5 years she has taught knitting and crocheting at the senior center. There are things Louisa likes about the East and things she likes about the West and there certainly are differences, she says. "For one thing, here it's not who you are, it's what you've done that counts." March, 1977 - Shelby Smith 76 � 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 Shelby Smith Interviews Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource https://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-NC/1.0/?language=en Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1973-1980 Subject The topic of the resource Ignacio; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Collection of biographies, predominantly of residents from the Ignacio Senior Center, based on interviews conducted by Shelby Smith from approximately 1973 to 1980. The abridged interviews were originally published as individual entries in The Thoughtful Years newsletter, published by the Ignacio Senior Center, beginning in 1973. They were later published as a whole in Smith's book: Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley, from which the original scans in this collection have been derived. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smith, Shelby Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Louisa (Shaffer) Hartig Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1977-03 Subject The topic of the resource Hartig, Louisa (Schaffer); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Louisa (Schaffer) Hartig based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the March, 1977 issue of "The Thoughtful Years" newsletter published by the Ignacio Senior Center. Later included in the book "Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley" by Shelby Smith. Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hartig, Louisa (Schaffer) Extent The size or duration of the resource. 3 pages Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/ Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smith, Shelby https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/680d19a12af3ecf98a0c25412403813b.pdf e08ff19b054f52b74ced25e7130d77ff PDF Text Text LOYD & ALICE (Frahm) LUNSFORD Loyd Lunsford was born in a sod house on his parent's homestead in the Cimarron Valley of Northwest Oklahoma on April 12, 1907. His parents, Homer and Junie Lunsford staked their claim near the town of Fai,view in 1894, one year after this section of Oklahoma, known as the Cherokee Strip, was opened for settlement. Homer raised cotton and peanuts and other crops. He left the farm in 1912 to operate a cream station across the river in Cleo Springs. Then they moved far west onto the great rolling plains of the panhandle. "We settled in a little town called Sunset right in the middle of nowhere. It was 30 rough miles in one direction to Beaver City and 40 rough miles in the other direction to Shattuck, the nearest rail depot. Dad hired out to do farm work and ran the cream station. Mother operated a two room hotel for the drummers (salesmen) who came through town. When I was eight years old, I got a job doing chores for a farmer. He soon learned I could handle horses and sent me to the field harrowing with a team of four. At the age of ten they had me discing. My wages were board and room and $10.00 per month. It took all my wages, all my brother Okla's wages, and all my mother and father earned to live. I'll always remember the wind which never stopped on those plains," "When we moved to Rogers, Arkansas in 1919, we felt we had returned to civilization. There was work for all of us in the orchards and berry farms of Northwest Arkansas. Our family got along better. I was able to finish 8th grade at Rogers. During the next several years I worked various jobs: the wheat ha,vest on the plains, farm work in the San Luis Valley and ranch work in Wyoming." In 1928 Loyd rode the D. & R.G.W. train to Ignacio to visit his brother, Okla. He soon got a job driving a truck for Ignacio Transfer. The company used a one ton Model T Ford Truck and a ton and a half Dodge Truck to haul everything imaginable. Of course it was not all work in Ignacio. One night the Lunsford boys went to a dance. Okla was dancing with a gin named Alice Frahm when he asked her if she would like to meet his little brother. She said sure. That's how Loyd became acquainted with his Mure bride. Alice and Loyd had good times over the next two years. They saw the silent movies in Durango, went swimming at Tremble Springs and attended rodeos. There were frequent dances at Akers Hall in Bayfield, and at the Odd Fellows Hall in Ignacio. The music was provided mostly by local individuals who played the piano, the fiddle or the guitar. One of the best was the newspaper editor {editor of the Bayfield Blade) named Raymond Eggar. His instrument was the saxophone. He not only played at dances, but also provided mood music at the silent movies. Alice and Loyd were married in January of 1930, Alice's father, Pe1er Frahm, was born in Koblenz, Germany, and came to America when he was about 20 years old. Her mother, Ellen Meagher, was born of Irish parents either on the boat or in Canada, their first stop on this side of the world. Peter and Ellen met 103 �near Gunnison where Peter was working in the mines. Ellen's mother was cooking for the miners. After Peter and Ellen were married. they migrated into the Durango area. They traveled by horse and buggy to Silverton, where they sold their rig and rode the train on to Durango. Peter worked at the Durango Smelter for a while, then started farming. Alice was born September 9, 1907, on the farm above Fall Creek. She attended Columbus School north of Bay1ield until third grade, then went to the Bay1ield Schools through grade 12. Alice's father died in 1924 of Miner's Consumption. Alice continued milking 6-8 cows during the remainder of high school to help her mother keep the farm. After high school Alice got an opportunity which came to very few young ladies in her time. She sub-contracted the Star Route from Bay1ield to Dike and back and ii paid $105.00 per month, a mighty good wage in that time. Three days each week Alice cranked up her Model T and headed east. Sometimes she hauled passengers at $1.00 per trip, and picked up cans of cream as well as carrying the mail. The first 8 miles out of Bay1ield were graveled. The remainder was just dirt road. Alice says she was never threatened by outlaws or other unsavory types, but the trip was frightening at limes because of slick roads and steep drop offs. She got along fine with her Model T. Later she ordered a new 1929 Model A. Loyd and Alice's wedding was set for the 13th of January, 1930. There was 4-5 feet of snow on the ground and Alice had to run the mail route before the wedding. She and her mother arrived in Dike and were preparing for the return trip when the wind began lo rise. The road was well plowed, but the blizzard began to blow it full of snow again. About 6 miles west of Dike they could go no further. Alice drained the radiator and led her mother along a fence until they found a ranch house. Back in Bay1ield Alice's brother, Fred, began to get worried. He roused out the snowplow crew, who fired up their big Coleman Truck and headed east. When they found the mail car, ii didn't take long lo conclude that Alice and her mother were in the nearby ranch house. The ladies, who had been well fed and put in a warm bed by the ranch wife, were none too willing to go back out into the night and follow the snow plow back to Bay1ield. The next day Alice and Loyd were married by the Rev. Schumaker at the Presbyterian Manse in Durango. Shortly after they were married Loyd began running the mail route from Bayfield to Ignacio round trip twice each day six days a week. At the same time Alice worked in the Bayfield telephone office. In 1935 the Lunsfords moved to Dike for a year and a half working on a ranch for Earl Osborn. Next they worked for C.F. Cornelius, a millionaire, who was developing a dude ranch at Granite Peaks on the Pine River above the present day reservoir. That first summer they lived in a tent and more than once violent thunderstorms sent water flooding through their tent. Later Loyd was transferred to the ranch owned by Anne Oliver (Cornelius' ex-wife) 3 miles north of Bay1ield where ~e served as ranch foreman for eight years. In 1944 Loyd and Alice moved back to Ignacio. Loyd went lo work for his brother, Okla, and continued this job for 24 years. He butchered, drove the truck, look care of the Quarter horses and did whatever else was needed. 104 �'l ~ "") ,, 'l 'l '' J l The Lunsfords are very proud of their son, Ron, and his wife and family. For several years Ron was an alcohol and drug abuse counselor at Tooele Army Depot in Utah. Ron is still working there in the personnel department. Today both Alice and Loyd are in remarkably good health. They are grateful for long happy lives and for good health and independence. They have a comfortable home with a great view of the Pine Valley, which they obviously love. Best wishes to both of them for many more years and much happiness. ) February, 1981 Shelby Smith i 1 ' 1 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) _) _J ...) _) ...) ...J _) ...) ...) ...) ...) .J ...) ...) ...) ..) ...) 105 � 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 Shelby Smith Interviews Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource https://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-NC/1.0/?language=en Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1973-1980 Subject The topic of the resource Ignacio; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Collection of biographies, predominantly of residents from the Ignacio Senior Center, based on interviews conducted by Shelby Smith from approximately 1973 to 1980. The abridged interviews were originally published as individual entries in The Thoughtful Years newsletter, published by the Ignacio Senior Center, beginning in 1973. They were later published as a whole in Smith's book: Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley, from which the original scans in this collection have been derived. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smith, Shelby Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Loyd Lunsford and Alice (Frahm) Lunsford Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1981-02 Subject The topic of the resource Lunsford, Loyd; Lunsford, Alice (Frahm); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Loyd Lunsford and Alice (Frahm) Lunsford based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith in February, 1981. Included in the book "Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley" by Shelby Smith. Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Lunsford, Loyd; Lunsford, Alice (Frahm) Extent The size or duration of the resource. 3 pages Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/ Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smith, Shelby https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/5f2c2c73183f3f43f29236fc2fae1b17.jpg 69e16aadeddb174809c4fb90e2fb35fd 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 Historic Photographs Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. 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 Lyn Anderson's Gas Station Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> Subject The topic of the resource Ignacio; Colorado; Gas Station; Lee Anderson Description An account of the resource Two photos of Wilburn Lyn Anderson's gas station in Ignacio, Colorado. Courtesy of Laura Whitt. Type The nature or genre of the resource Still Image https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/e3ae41db26303575b2b00d571d0add72.jpg 85a1fe872f44e4d8ac44d938745a3064 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 Historic Photographs Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. 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 Main Street in Ignacio, Colorado Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-RUU/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-RUU/1.0/</a> Subject The topic of the resource Ignacio; Colorado; Main Street; Goddard Avenue Description An account of the resource A photo of "main street" (Goddard Avenue) in Ignacio, Colorado with building descriptions. Type The nature or genre of the resource Still Image https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/4959f21e99c6159383421e1ba826f3ac.pdf 3c23cd2dfe8971978a98e3785a8348cb PDF Text Text 'l '7 '7 '7 'l 'l 'l ' ' ' ) l ) ' ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) MANUAL G. AND REGINA (Gallegos) CANDELARIA It's a long way from Spain to Arboles, Colorado, especially by way of California, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico to Colorado; but that's the route which over several generations Manual Candelaria's ancestors have come. His Great-grandparents migrated to California from the Candelaria Valley in Spain. By the time Manual's father, Joe was born, the family lived in Chile, N. M. In successive years they moved to Tierra Amarillo and Caracas. Manual's grandfather with relatives and friends, scouted the Dolores Valley and decided to move there, but when the time came to load up and go, the rivers were too high to cross. Moving down the San Juan Valley they came to Rosa and liked it well enough to stay. It was a simpler and perhaps saner world into which Manual C. Candelaria was born on Nov. 16, 1899. Rosa, New Mexico, just below the Colorado line on the San Juan River, had a general store, a saloon and a few houses. Irrigation ditches had been installed to make green farms in the valley and above were the ranches in the dry-hills. Everyone had a few cattle and a horse or two. Joe and Faustina had two children before Manual was born, but both of them died. In 1901 Manual's mother died. During Manual's infancy and teenage years his father worked at various jobs in the area. Little Manual stayed with first one relative, then another. There was plenty of work to do wherever he stayed, but also some time for himself. He especially liked the summer when he could wade in the river and fish for trout. The general store had many things tempting to children, but Manual could only look. Ready cash was scarce for even adults. Children had none. Manual never went to school. ) J ) ) J _) _) .J .J ..J .J .J .J ...J J ...J J ...J J J ....) Sometime during Manual's early years San Juan County in N.M., the whole state of Colorado went dry. The fact that Rio Arriba County was still wet and that Rosa was in the extreme northwest corner nearest the population centers in Southwest Colorado brought swift and drastic changes to the tiny town. Soon there were eleven saloons riproaring 24 hours per day. Characters of every description, farmers, sheep men, cattlemen, railroaders, miners from Silverton and Telluride and dudes from Durango and Cortez flocked to Rosa on holidays and weekends and any other time they could. All of them were thirsty. Rosa was a fighting, gambling, carousing little town for several years. Living with one relative, then another, was not easy. Manual felt he didn't really belong anywhere. Joe remarried in 1911. Manual ran away when he was 15. One grandmother lived at Kline and he headed there. He rode the train to Durango, intending to catch the train to Telluride, get off at Hesperus and hitch rides to Kline. Manual didn't foresee the trouble a boy who could speak no English could have at a depot. Somehow the ticket agent misunderstood. As a result Manual found himself on a train headed north. When he got off at Silverton, Manual had 35 cents. He didn't know what to do, but he was determined not to return home. Soon he found a job in the kitchen of a boarding house at a mine 9 miles north of Silverton. His wages were $75.00 per month plus room and board. He washed dishes, helped the cook and did odd jobs around the place. Most of the miners were Italians and Swedes. They couldn't pronounce Candelaria, so Manual was known as "Candy". One big fellow who everyone called the "Big Swede" (Manual never knew his real name) took a special liking to "Candy". Whenever payday came, 21 �Manual would sign his check over to the Swede and the Swede bought Manual clothes, shoes, or whatever else he needed. For two years Manual hardly ever went to Silverton for fear someone would recognize him and let his dad know where he was. Finally, he met one of his old friends, Joe Maez. For a change they decided to leave Silverton and get jobs in Telluride. His last few days in Silverton, Manual spent with the big Swede. He would always get drunk when he went to town. This time the Swede disappeared for a couple of days. I didn't know where he was. Then I saw him coming down the street. He was unshaven and had a black eye. I asked him where he had been. "In jail", he said. After he got cleaned up, he took me to the bank and showed me my bank balance. Every dollar of every check I had given him was there. Everything he had bought for me was out of his own money. Joe and I soon left for Telluride and I never saw the Swede again. On the way to Telluride the boys did some shopping in Durango. Manual had a hard time communicating. He thought he had learned English at the mine. Actually, what he had learned was 5% English and the rest an astonishing conglomerate of Italian, Swedish and Mexican. After working two years in Telluride, Joe Maez decided to go visit his folks in Rosa and talked Manual into going too. "I didn't want to go, but I decided maybe I should. Most boys change a lot between ages 15 and 19. Manual certainly had. 'I looked different and I had a lot of nice clothes. About all I ever spent money on was clothes. My step-mother didn't recognize me and my dad almost didn't. He cried when he saw me." From this point on Manual worked away part of the time and stayed at home part of the time. One reason he spent time at home was a pretty little girl named Regina Gallegos. "She was a pretty girl. I would watch her walking home from school. Some people thought I was interested in her because her folks were rich. They owned a nice farm and a saloon in Rosa, but that wasn't why. I just liked her." Regina, born Jan. 13, 1905, was only 15 when Manual first noticed her. Her parents, Aneceto and Adela Gallegos, opposed their friendship at first. Regina recalls, "I had to sneak out of the house to go on buggy rides and to dances with Manual." Once while working at Gobernador, Manual heard about a basket auction at Arboles. He had a good pacing horse and rode the 40 miles just to bid on Regina's basket. "Some of my friends kept raising the bid on me. I finally had to pay over $6.00 for it." Manual and Regina were married January 28, 1924. They lived in Rosa for a year, then moved to Dolores to work in the Mcfee Mine. Later Manual got a job on a repair train for the D. & R.G. "We lived in a box car. It was well furnished and warm and comfortable. Manual worked on the steam shovel which moved up and down the Durango-Silverton line repairing flood damage to the tracks. Our car would be parked on a siding hill as we moved up to a new area. We never left the train from April to December. All our necessities were brought in by supply trains." In 1931 Manual and Regina staked a dry land claim on the mesa near La Jara. They built a house, planted an orchard and raised some good crops. Government inspectors tried to run them off, but Manual stayed till his claim became a test case in Albuquerque and he won. Later they leased land near Arboles and then began buying it until they acquired about 800 acres. The Candelaria's raised 7 children on the ranch. All of the 22 �') ') """'\ ' ' ' ' """'\ l children survive. Manual Jr. operates the ranch now. Manual says, "My son does most of the work. I can do a lot yet, but when you get old, you get smart." The Candelarias like to travel. They have made 3-4 trips to Mexico, once to Mexico City and once to Acapulco. "I'd like to go again," Regina says. Last January 28, Manual and Regina celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary. We wish them many more y,ears of happy living on their ranch. ) Shelby Smith, March, 1975. ) J ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) _) .) _J J ..) ..J ..) ..J ..J ..J ..J ..J .J .J .J J J 23 � 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 Shelby Smith Interviews Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource https://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-NC/1.0/?language=en Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1973-1980 Subject The topic of the resource Ignacio; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Collection of biographies, predominantly of residents from the Ignacio Senior Center, based on interviews conducted by Shelby Smith from approximately 1973 to 1980. The abridged interviews were originally published as individual entries in The Thoughtful Years newsletter, published by the Ignacio Senior Center, beginning in 1973. They were later published as a whole in Smith's book: Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley, from which the original scans in this collection have been derived. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smith, Shelby Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Manual Candelaria and Regina (Gallegos) Candelaria Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1975-03 Subject The topic of the resource Candelaria, Manual G.; Candelaria, Regina (Gallegos); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Manual Candelaria and Regina (Gallegos) Candelaria based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith in March, 1975. Included in the book "Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley" by Shelby Smith. Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Candelaria, Manual; Candelaria, Regina (Gallegos) Extent The size or duration of the resource. 3 pages Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/ Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smith, Shelby https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/97f572ecf6038193c4f030706a857654.pdf e69c0614913b9078fd89027464b27140 PDF Text Text MARIA (Abeyta) RIVERA Maria, the fifth of Antonio and Josefa Abeyta's nine children, was born into an orderly and hard-working world. Her people were sheepherders in the country near Tierra Amarilla, N.M. "Most of us in that lime weren't too poor and sure weren't rich. We lived in a post house. Cedar posts were set in rows like a stockade, then plastered inside and out. The roof was posts and sticks covered with earth. It leaked and was a mess whenever there was a heavy rain until we could afford to put tin over it. I haven't been back there for a long time, but we hear the house is still there and still being used." When Maria was about three years old, her parents moved to a dry land farm near Cabresto (up Frances Creek east of present day Navajo Darn). Antonio built another post house and dug a well. He hit a good stream of water at 18 feet. The Abeytas raised dry land crops fairly successfully, but the garden needed watering and the well was the only source. Maria remembers hauling bucket after bucket to the garden. Two of Maria's sisters went to live with their grandmother at La Puente about three miles from Tierra Amarilla. Grandmothe(s house was a large frame house with five bedrooms. Maria recalls, "The fifth bedroom was just for guests and was never touched unless a guest was in the house. She had a large wood-burning cookstove, a fire place and a heating stove. No coal was available, so someone had to chop a lot of wood." Since there was no school at Cabresto, Antonio bought a farm near Rosa. It was much easier to raise profitable crops on the irrigated land and possible to send the children to school. However, Maria seldom got to attend school more than 4-5 months per year. Two of her older sisters had died. Since the other two were living with their grandmother, and Josefa had become ill, Maria became the cook, laundress and food preserver for the family. Maria says, "People talk about how bad kids are today. I don1 believe they are nearly as naughty as they were when I was a child. Once when I was a child a group of boys in our room tried to set the teacher on fire. The teacher was an old man and not too observant. The boys began slipping matches under his coat collar with the match heads protruding in a row. One of the boys behind him struck a match and was about to set the fire when one of the students yelled and grabbed the lighted match. Otherwise the resulting fire would probably have burned all the remaining hair off his nearly bald head. 11 "Every winter our cellar was full of beans, peas, chicos, cheese and piles of pumpkins. Then we had eggs, milk and butter coming all the lime. We always had enough. Everyone who put out the effort to grow a garden had enough in those days. I think the climate is colder now. It's hard to get things to mature." "In warm weather all of us children were outside playing or working all the time, but in cold months there was less to do. That's when Abuelo and Abuela (grandpa and grandma) told us stories around the fireplace. I wish I could remember the stories they 144 �told, but I can't. For public entertainment there were only a few events each year. On the 4th of July there were races and a rodeo but no fireworks. One year someone brought a Ferris Wheel. Nothing else; just a Ferris Wheel. It cost five cents to ride. I ate ice cream and drank lemonade and rode the Ferris Wheel so many times I got sick and had to go lie down at my aunt's house. Then there were the maromas. The latest maromas I remember was in Ignacio in the 1950's. The maromas was a group of people who made music, danced and sang and told jokes and stories. The whole community came when the maromas were in town. ·, ) ) ) ' When Maria was 25 she married Henry Rivera. His family had migrated to Rosa from Cimmaron and Monero, New Mexico. Henry had worked in the mines at Silverton and also worked for the railroad. The Riveras stayed at Rosa untll 1949 when they bought a farm near Allison. Their 10 children are: Cecilia (deceased), Bennie, Mary (deceased), Gilbert, Pete, Fred, Anna Marie, Orlando, Agnes and Richard. In addition to the children Maria has 23 grandchildren. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) In 1956 Maria moved to Ignacio. She has worked at various jobs since then. The children are scattered all over the country, and because of this Maria has got to do something she never thought possible. "I have traveled all over this country. I never thought I'd do that. The way I was raised people stayed at home. We didn't expect to fo anywhere and we couldn't with our livestock and crops and gardens. Now I've been to Los Angeles, Connecticut. Rhode Island and New York to see my children. I'd rather ride a burro than these little planes that come to Durango, but once I get to Denver the big planes are nice. _) August, 1976 - Shelby Smith ) ) ) _J __) _) ) .J ...J ..J -..J J -..J .J J ...J ...J ..J -.) ~ 145 � 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 Shelby Smith Interviews Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource https://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-NC/1.0/?language=en Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1973-1980 Subject The topic of the resource Ignacio; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Collection of biographies, predominantly of residents from the Ignacio Senior Center, based on interviews conducted by Shelby Smith from approximately 1973 to 1980. The abridged interviews were originally published as individual entries in The Thoughtful Years newsletter, published by the Ignacio Senior Center, beginning in 1973. They were later published as a whole in Smith's book: Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley, from which the original scans in this collection have been derived. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smith, Shelby Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Maria (Abeyta) Rivera Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1976-08 Subject The topic of the resource Rivera, Maria (Abeyta); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Maria (Abeyta) Rivera based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the August, 1976 issue of "The Thoughtful Years" newsletter published by the Ignacio Senior Center. Later included in the book "Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley" by Shelby Smith. Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rivera, Maria (Abeyta) Extent The size or duration of the resource. 2 pages Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/ Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smith, Shelby https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/1835b22321114a1211abf5b9df18a57f.pdf 24a6042b21e7286109ae1a4dd55473ad PDF Text Text -, -, 'l -, 'l ,' , l ) ) J ) J ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) MARIA BENEDITA (Lucero) CASIAS In 1898 when Leandro and Candelaria Lucero were farming near Cuba, N.M., their first child was born. Maria Benedita was the first of six children and the only girl. Two years later Benedita's father heard of good land and new opportunities across the line in Colorado, so he moved his family to a farm near La Boca. They stayed there for a year, then rented the Joe Velasquez ranch 7 miles south of Ignacio near Martin Hayes place, the first son born in the family was Manual, then Julian, Eustavio, Genino and Alfredo. Leandro had goats, chickens, pigs and sheep as well as horses for work and transportation. As the boys grew up they gave plenty of help with the irrigating and harvesting on the farm. Benedita and her mother took care of the garden and the cooking, weaving and sewing. Candelaria raised her own chili and other produce. "She dried everything," Benedita recalls, "and without refrigeration or freezers that was the best and cheapest way to preserve food. After a few years Dad bought the farm from Joe. We had an adobe house with two front rooms , two bedrooms and a kitchen. We carried water from the river until Dad dug a well near the house." To earn extra money, Leandro worked part time for Arthur Jones who lived over near Spring Creek. "I remember when I learned to make tortillas. I was so small I had to stand on a bench to reach the table top. I also remember the good smells of food at Christmas. That was a happy time in the old days, even though we never had store bought toys. My father would carve dolls and baby chairs and wooden dishes. Winter was nice because of the sled. It was so much fun, so smooth and quiet to ride on the sled. That was the best way to travel in those days." ) ) ) J ) J J J J __, .J .J ...) __, ...) ...) J J J J .J Benedita went to first grade at the agency, but thereafter she went to school at the Arroyo, (over the hill and below the present locker plant slaughter house). Fabian Martinez had built a tavern, dance hall, cafe, rooming house, etc. along the railroad tracks one mile west of Ignacio. Benedita liked the Arroyo school better because the teacher could explain things in Spanish, if necessary. In 1910 the Luceros moved to a place on the hill west of Ignacio, then they bought a place in Ignacio in 1911 {the same house where the La Febres now live). That was the year of the flood. Everyone who was at least 5 years old in 1911 remembers the flood . It rained for a week. All the people in the valley got flooded out. "We had to go through deep water in a wagon to get my grandmother out of her house. Many people spent 2-3 days in their attics. Others were lost, especially down along the San Juan." "Chrestino and his parents were our neighbors south of Ignacio for a long time. He was a nice boy. I had known him for a long time and always liked him. In those days there was a dance in Ignacio every Saturday. That was about our only entertainment. We often went to the dances together and knew one another well when we got married. For a year we lived with my parents, then got our own place west of Ignacio near the Pine River Switch (not far from Joe Chavez). We raised a garden, wheat, corn and hay. Most of our shopping was done in Bayfield because prices were cheaper than in Ignacio. 29 �A lime of great sadness came to the Lucero family in 1918. Benedita's mother was one of the thousands in this nation who died of the swine flu that year. Two years later Leandro married Marie Chavez. They had one daughter, Elisa, (now Mrs. Bennie Herrera). Chrestino and Bennedito had 5 children: Ray, Ophelia (Mestas), Helen (Cruz), Lloyd and Chrestino, Jr. In 1925 Chrestino went to Utah for 2 years to work in the mines. He earned good money, saved it, and in 1927 had enough to buy his first car, a new Chevrolet. The Casias bought a place on the hill west of Ignacio soon afterwards. "We bought the land from Arthur Smith, who at that time lived over near Jerry Young's place. We enjoyed our life here. Our kids were good kids. I guess about the only lime we overworked them, at least some of them think so, was in carrying water. For a long time the kids had to bring water from the spring down the hill. Some of them used to say they were going to become hunch-backed from all that carrying, but they didn't." Chrestino died February 16, 1974. For years he had played the guitar and violin well and was frequently asked to play for parties and dances. He will be remembered a long lime for this ability. Benedita still lives at home. Occasionally, she visits her children in Utah and California, but mostly she stays home and spends a little time each day remembering both the good and the bad times of the days long ago. Best wishes to her for many more years of happiness and good memories. April, 1976 -- Shelby Smith 30 � 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 Shelby Smith Interviews Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource https://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-NC/1.0/?language=en Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1973-1980 Subject The topic of the resource Ignacio; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Collection of biographies, predominantly of residents from the Ignacio Senior Center, based on interviews conducted by Shelby Smith from approximately 1973 to 1980. The abridged interviews were originally published as individual entries in The Thoughtful Years newsletter, published by the Ignacio Senior Center, beginning in 1973. They were later published as a whole in Smith's book: Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley, from which the original scans in this collection have been derived. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smith, Shelby Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Maria Benedita (Lucero) Casias Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1976-04 Subject The topic of the resource Casias, Maria Benedita (Lucero); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Maria Benedita (Lucero) Casias based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the April, 1976 issue of "The Thoughtful Years" newsletter published by the Ignacio Senior Center. Later included in the book "Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley" by Shelby Smith. Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Casias, Maria Benedita (Lucero) Extent The size or duration of the resource. 2 pages Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/ Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smith, Shelby https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/cfbd84a625653ede51e5f41c0194e0f6.pdf 0badfd3b3ae315566b7f7aac8e9c15af PDF Text Text MARTHA LOUISE (Miller) SEMLER Martha Louise Miller was born near Kennan, Wisconsin, April 14, 1904. Her parents were Gustave Alvin Miller and Wilhimina Krate Miller, both of whom immigrated from Germany when they were teenagers. Gustave's family was fairly wea1thy. Therefore when he got to New York, he attended school to learn English. Wilhimina couldn't afford school when she arrived at Baltimore. "However," Martha recalls, "my mother spoke good English with no accent, while my dad, for all his schooling, always had a heavy German brogue." "Both my parents were naturalized citizens within a year. They met at the Amana Colony near Des Moines, Iowa, where they got jobs. Two years later they got married. Dad worked in a brewery, then took up farming first in Iowa then in northern Wisconsin where I was born, the youngest of 10. These are my brothers and sisters in order. The oldest was Minnie, then Emma, Ann, Marie (who died at age 2), Margaret, Augusta, Elvina, Ed, Paul, and Martha." "Dad farmed in the summer and was a logger in winter. I remember he saved the tamarack bark to sell to the tannery. No one ever irrigates anything in Wisconsin. Most of the time there's too much water. Our river bottom land was like a sponge much of the year. It was a trick to raise hay there. Only at certain times could we work and only with oxen. They never bog down. After the hay was cut we raked it by hand with wooden rakes with pegs for teeth. I can still remember my dad carving new pegs for the rakes." ) ) J ) _) _) .-.J J ...) J .....J ...) ....J _) ._J J "I never saw anybody ride a horse till we moved to Colorado. My brother even hitched an ox to our buggy to deliver cream - to town." "Wisconsin," Martha says, "is wonderful for wild fruit and nuts, blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, etc., and hickory, hazelnuts, butternuts, chestnuts. We gathered two sacks full of them and put them in the attic of the woodshed to dry and cure. Every fall our neighbors cut and shipped box car loads of greenery to the cities for Christmas wreaths. My mother taught me to card and spin wool thread when I was 10. I wish I had a spinning wheel now. It was fun." "I might still be in Wisconsin if our doctor hadn't told Dad mother's health would be better at a higher altitude. Dad headed west, intending to go as far as Oregon where Emma lived. But in Denver, Dad met Mr. Hoffman who was looking for someone to manage the H&H Ranch south of Oxford. Dad agreed to take the job for 2 months to see if he liked it. After a month he sent for us. All that were left at home were Mother, my 2 brothers and me. I didn't like it at first. I was accustomed to a nice home with a lawn. I missed my friends. I attended the old, white school at Oxford. (It's been moved to Amy McCaw's place.) I met Horace and Ralph Buchanan, the Boyce girls, Jim and Jack Turner, John Gibert, the Hayden kids and many others. My first teacher was Myrtle Mcchesney from Allison. Later she married Anthony Morris. Soon we moved near the Pine River Switch to prove out some homestead land and stayed there until I was married at 15." ....J ....J ....) ._J 153 �Martha and Gustave Semler, whom she married in 1919, farmed near Oxford for a year then moved to Sable Canyon on Spring Creek. There Martha plowed with 3 horses, helped run the binder and shock and stack 45 acres of grain. Later they worked another place on Spring Creek which had regular irrigation. "We went to Ignacio about every two weeks for business or supplies. From Ignacio it took three and half to four hours lo ride to Durango if you had a horse with a good running walk." "I remember our mail carrier, Melvin Walker, drove a wagon with a cover over it and a stove inside. He arrived at our box at 4:00 p.m. and then had to go all the way back to Ignacio. Arthur Capell used a car when he took over that route." Martha had five children: Paul lives west of Ignacio; Herbert died at Fitzsimmons Army Hospital at the age of 22; Betty lives at Olathe; Bill lives north of Ignacio; and Michael lives at Sheridan, Wyoming. One summer when Paul was a baby, Gustave took a herd of Arthur Jones's sheep to pasture up near the Needle Mountains. In mid-summer Martha took little Paul on horseback to the camp. It snowed, rained and hailed every day. In late summer she helped move the herd back to Spring Creek. "I could pack a burro and move camp like a man, then." The Semlers lived in Durango, Dulce, and Ft. Lewis before moving to the Chromister Place one mile north of Oxford. This was depression time and life was very hard. For 9 months Martha milked 30 cows morning and evening. "My hands swelled to twice their size. It was too much work, but in a depression, you do what you have to do. I also broke horses to ride or to plow, for $25 per head. We lost the farm north of Oxford. From then on I raised and supported my children alone. We moved lo Ignacio. Paul was only 13, but we tried to farm the James place (where Candelaria subdivision is located). Next we lived on the Johannsen Place at Tiffany and ran the cream station for Shaefers. In the spring I dropped corn (planted) all day long for $.50. The older children and I worked at whatever we could to survive. When Paul went to the war, he sent us an allotment which made life easier." Today, Martha has 15 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren lo enjoy. She has a house full of mementoes and memories of her parents and of a life of pioneering in the north woods and the western mountains. Martha still has spunk and energy and a wealth of skills which she will share with others if they want to learn. She tells great stories, many of which we don't have room to tell here. Shelby Smith -- January, 1978 154 � 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 Shelby Smith Interviews Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource https://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-NC/1.0/?language=en Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1973-1980 Subject The topic of the resource Ignacio; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Collection of biographies, predominantly of residents from the Ignacio Senior Center, based on interviews conducted by Shelby Smith from approximately 1973 to 1980. The abridged interviews were originally published as individual entries in The Thoughtful Years newsletter, published by the Ignacio Senior Center, beginning in 1973. They were later published as a whole in Smith's book: Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley, from which the original scans in this collection have been derived. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smith, Shelby Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Martha Louise (Miller) Semler Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1978-01 Subject The topic of the resource Semler, Martha Louise (Miller); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Martha Louise (Miller) Semler based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the January, 1978 issue of "The Thoughtful Years" newsletter published by the Ignacio Senior Center. Later included in the book "Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley" by Shelby Smith. Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Semler, Martha Louise (Miller) Extent The size or duration of the resource. 2 pages Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/ Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smith, Shelby https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/de38c56b0ce2fd992c71bdb85c3b8edd.pdf 494524474a22964d0d81ae9a78dbce81 PDF Text Text MARTIN HAYES Lilly Fish Hayes gave birth to her 5th child July 30, 1896, near La Boca, Colorado. Her band, the Capote Band was encamped on a hill above the Pine River for the summer. Martin was born in a tepee like countless other Lites back through the generations. Lilly and her children had little conception of the great changes about to affect their tribe. Not much longer would the LIies hunt the deer and the rabbits for their food. Not much longer would they have skill with bows and arrows. Not much longer would they weave their own fish seines from strips of oak fibers. Martin learned these skills as a boy. As he became a man, he learned farming skills also. When he got his own land, he raised wheat and oats, potatoes and corn and the other necessary vegetables for the table. Martin remembers the many ceremonials and dances and the horse racing and gambling which entertained the tribe in the old days. His own tastes were more for quiet things. Martin liked to fish. He especially liked to ride his horse into the middle of the Pine River and fish from horseback. All of Martin's brothers and his sister are dead now. He never married, but he raised his nephew, Erdman Tobias, from the lime he was a child. Erdman still lives with Martin and they are very close. Though life has changed greatly for his tribe, Martin continues to lead a very simple existence. He has never driven a car and states, "I'd never make it home, if I tried." He has never traveled far from the Pine Valley except for one trip to Utah. When asked whether he would like to have the old days back, Martin says, "I'm enjoying myself. I like the new things that are coming about." April, 1977 -- Shelby Smith, translated by Isabel Kent 82 � 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 Shelby Smith Interviews Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource https://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-NC/1.0/?language=en Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1973-1980 Subject The topic of the resource Ignacio; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Collection of biographies, predominantly of residents from the Ignacio Senior Center, based on interviews conducted by Shelby Smith from approximately 1973 to 1980. The abridged interviews were originally published as individual entries in The Thoughtful Years newsletter, published by the Ignacio Senior Center, beginning in 1973. They were later published as a whole in Smith's book: Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley, from which the original scans in this collection have been derived. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smith, Shelby Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Martin Hayes Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1977-04 Subject The topic of the resource Hayes, Martin; Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Martin Hayes based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the April, 1977 issue of "The Thoughtful Years" newsletter published by the Ignacio Senior Center. Later included in the book "Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley" by Shelby Smith. Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hayes, Martin Extent The size or duration of the resource. 1 page Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/ Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smith, Shelby; Kent, Isabel