14 10 216 https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/6e0ebe2e794942e401ba92bea8f0ee24.pdf 3fb7ceac231fd51b412a3dd4d76d633a PDF Text Text PAUL AND HAZEL (Gunderman) BRAKE During the first two decades of this century, the Ithaca (New York) Conservatory of Music was one of the four finest music centers in the country. It was there Paul Brake and Hazel Gunderman became acquainted through their interest in music and dated and became good friends. Ithaca, in the Finger Lakes district of southern New York, is a very beautiful place. "It's very much like here, only less rugged and has much mare rain" says Hazel. When Hazel was born on August 30, 1901, her parents, Charles and Ethyl Gunderman, lived in Waverly, New York, about 40 miles south of Ithaca. Mr. Gunderman was employed by an aggressive company with a great future, the Bell Telephone Co. "Dad was a construction foreman and a trouble man for 33 years. This job eventually took us to Ithaca. It was hard work without the machines used today. The telephone poles were raised by horses and the men had to pull the wires by hand. During the years he was a trouble man, he was called out during storms and in the middle of the night whenever service was interrupted." School was quite demanding in those days. "We didn't get any credit for just being there. Every year we had to pass the Regent's Exam or we would not be passed on to the next grade. Our home was heated by a coal stove. We had running water from the town's spring-fed reservoir, so pure it needed no filtration. -We had no supermarkets. We bought milk and eggs at the creamery and our meat at the butcher's. The stores did have canned goods, which was a help, since the only fresh things available during winter were cabbage, celery, turnips and plenty of apples. Bacon was 20 cents a pound and if butter got to 35 cents a pound, people-thought it was too high to use. Refrigerating food was never a problem in winter. We always had a cold room, but in summer every one used an ice box. Blocks of ice were delivered twice a week. Ice cutting on the river provided work for many men during winter." During the 1920's Hazel taught music to many private students. This work was successful and enjoyable until the years of the depression. Suddenly people were too poor to pay for music lessons and Hazel was out of work. In 1932 Hazel and her mother went to Los Angeles for a visit and decided to stay, since there were more jobs in California. Over the next 30 years Hazel had a variety of jobs. "I took whatever was available during the depression. There was no unemployment compensation then." In 1962 Hazel made a trip back to Ithaca. While visiting Miss Holmes, one of her old teachers at the conservatory, she learned that Paul Brake, whom she had not seen for over 30 years, was teaching school in Salida, Colorado. When she returned home, Hazel wrote to Opal and the friendship which had begun so long ago, resumed. They met in Las Vegas, Nevada, over Christmas vacation of 1962 and were married. Paul returned to Salida to finish the school year. The next summer he joined Hazel in Los Angeles. The Brakes came to Ignacio and Durango for a vacation in the summer of 1964. This was not Paul's first trip to this area. He had taught music in the Ute Vocational School for 6 years 1946-53. Of all the bands he taught in various schools across the country, 16 �'1 '1 '1 1 1 1 I I Mr. Brake says he got the most satisfaction from his bands at the Indian School. Primarily, Mr. Brake says, "Because the Indian children are very talented, musically." J l ' I ) ' ' ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) J ) _) J .) .J J .J .J __) .J .._) .._) ..) .._) .._) J J J Paul had good memories of Ignacio and Hazel took an immediate liking for the area. After a little searching, they located a house to buy, then returned to Los Angeles, since Hazel needed to work only a few months to reach retirement age. She had no regrets about leaving Los Angeles. "Los Angeles offers many cultural advantages, such as the Hollywood Bowl, the museums, and the symphony, but I never really liked it there very well. It is damp and foggy much of the time. Then the town began to grow until all the autos made the air almost unbreathable.'' Pulling up stakes to move to Los Angeles and then on to Ignacio is part of the pattern of Paul Brake's life. His career in music has taken him to more places in the country than most people have heard of. Paul's father, Charles Hobart Brake was a school teacher educated in Canada. Later he bought a Business College in Norfolk, Nebraska. Paul was born there on December 14, 1897. After selling the college, Charles farmed in Nebraska and then decided to go back to New York. Not long afterward, Paul began to demonstrate the beginnings of the musical talent which would dominate his life, Paul had been forbidden to "bother his father's clarinet', but when he was alone in the house, Paul experimented with it until he could play a tune. When his father caught him, he decided it was not mischief but potential talent showing up. So -Paul got lessons. Then he was sent to the conservatory where he met Hazel. His first jobs were providing theme music at the theaters in Ithaca. Then he went on the road with the band in Van Arnum's Circus and became fascinated with the traveling life. Over the next 20 years, he traveled the country with a marvelous variety of circuses, road shows and melodramas. Paul worked one season on a living legend, the Cotton Blossom Show Boat. "We played the towns up and down the Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers, one play going down and another coming back up the river. We did Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come and Unwa nted Child. The band provided incidental music for the plays. When the boat stopped near Hannibal, Missouri, I asked an old timer whether he had known Mark Twain. He said yes, he had known him and that Mark was a pretty good man, but an awful liar." The show boat was a theater built on a garage. It would seat 500. "Most of the time we stopped at towns, but occasionally we'd tie up at lonely little docks in farm country. That night we'd see the people walking through the woods with their lanterns and rowing down the river in their skiffs. People in those areas were hungry for entertainment and it was surprising what a crowd we'd pull out of seemingly empty country. Seats cost 35 cents to 75 cents. There were 10 in the cast, 12 in the band and a crew of 3 operated the stern-wheeler steam boat which maneuvered the garage." Paul played tuba for the Youngstown, Ohio Symphony for several years, then went back on the road with the Ringling Brothers-Barnum & Bailey Circus. Other years he taught band in schools in Ohio, Texas and Colorado . The Brake's time in Colorado has been retirement in the best sense of the word. Now that there is time, they have both worked to develop further their talents and interests . Hazel has taught piano to many youngsters and spends hours oil painting. Paul fishes 17 �in the Pine River when he takes a notion, teaches violin and composes music. His latest creation, a symphonic composition of four suites for band was conducted by Mr. Brake at the Ft. Lewis Concert last December. Our senior citizens are people with abilities and interests as varied and as valuable as those of any other age group. The Brakes are adequate evidence of this. We send both of them our best wishes for good health and for many years to work and create and contribute to their community. January, 1976 -- by Shelby Smith 18 � 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 Paul Brake and Hazel (Gunderman) Brake Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1976-01 Subject The topic of the resource Brake, Paul; Brake, Hazel (Gunderman); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Paul Brake and Hazel (Gunderman) Brake based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the January, 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 Brake, Paul; Brake, Hazel (Gunderman) 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/cb2d33f162bcbcf5802ab75c80c35622.pdf 649a64a41547d9e01836a48f25089f8e PDF Text Text '1 '1 '1 '1 'l '1 'l J 'l i ) ) i EDITH SHOSHONE BURCH "Since my parents both died when I was 3 years old, the only things I know about them came from my oldest sister, May. I was born June 6, 1907 in the Pine Valley across the river from Ignacio, probably in a tepee. The Indians often moved into their tepees during the warm months, partly because they were easy to move when they got restless and partly because they reminded them of an earlier time. My father, Harry Shoshone, Sr. was a tribal policeman. Death came early and unexpectedly for him. He was sent to patrol a fair in Durango and in the course of his duty he chased some unruly drunks, stepped in a hole while running and broke his leg. Infection set in. The leg was amputated and he died from loss of blood. A few months later my mother, Laura, died also. I do not know the cause of her death." J ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) } J ) ) J .J J .J _) ...J _) J ...J J J J J J J J J "I was placed in the Indian School Dormitory north of Ignacio. Since I was so young, I was placed with the cook, Mrs. Simpson, (Jessie Hott's mother) who had an apartment in the dorm. Later she married and became Mrs. Stauffer. She was like a mother to me and took a special interest in me until I left the Ignacio School at the age of 11. The dormitory I lived in is now the boy's dorm. At that time one end was for boys and the other for girls. Some of the other original buildings are gone and the water tower which gave us so much fun is now gone. We were not supposed to climb it, so of course, we did. I tried it once but got so scared half way up, I came back down. None of us went home for the holidays. We stayed at school all year until summer vacation. I spent summers with my sister, May." "At the age of 11, I was sent to school at Towaoc for a year. Then I went to Santa Fe where I finished the 8th grade. I could have gone to Albuquerque to finish high school, but instead I took a job working in a Sanitarium at Dulce. Later I worked for a Presbyterian missionary in the Dulce area. When he moved to Albuquerque, I came back to Ignacio. Ernest Burch went to school w ith me, but I never paid any attention to him until I moved back to Ignacio. He built dams and irrigation ditches for the Pine River Project. He had bought an old Ford car with a crank start. It was fun to go on dates in a car. We got married in 1927. At first we lived with my sister Jane Bird in an old adobe house located near the present site of the Tribal maintenance shop. Soon we moved into a two room frame house with a living room-kitchen and one bedroom. It had a wood-burning cook stove and no other improvements. Later we got Louis Valdez to build us a 4 room adobe house. It still stands south of Graves Gunn's house. We had running water in a spring down near the river bank. We fenced the spring to keep dogs and cows from spoiling the clean water. Fortunately, I knew how to ride a horse, because Ernest needed me to help round up his cattle and sheep for many years. After several years we built a house up on the hill east of Ignacio. It was a special house since it was our first one with modern plumbing and lights." "My husband was a singer and dancer in the old tradition of the tribe. He was often the first one up the valley to sing and play the drum while the Sun Dancers held up their arms to pray. He knew the Bear Dance songs and often helped with that. All the Indian 19 �ways and ceremonials were very important to him. He followed the Indian ways until he died in 1977." "We had 10 children in all. The ones still living are Homer, Ernestine, LaVarra, Nova Dene, Robert, Dennis and Cynthia. Franklin died when he was 18. The others died when they were babies." "We moved out of Ignacio in April of 1977. Ernest died in November. His funeral was at Sacred Heart Church in Durango where we were married 50 years before. When I think about the days when we were young, I remember how active we were. We baked our own bread and made quilts. If we needed something from the store, we walked to town with packs on our backs to carry the canned goods. I think we have gotten too lazy." "The important thing for me today is to go to church. I like to go twice on Sunday. I enjoy it and I enjoy going to Worker's Conference in other towns. I try to get my Indian friends to go to church regularly. It helps me and I think it would help them, too." March, 1979 -- by Shelby Smith 20 � 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 Edith Shoshone Burch Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1979-03 Subject The topic of the resource Burch, Edith Shoshone; Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Edith Shoshone Burch based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the March, 1979 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 Burch, Edith Shoshone 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/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/528b641f18412144b98046eab3ac32aa.pdf dbeecf70bf3189c78cd587ae03d34e48 PDF Text Text SARAH MAE "SALLY" (WICKLIFF) CAPELL Can on Ohio girl find happiness in Colorado? "Sally" didn't think so in 1938 when her husband Arthur decided he wanted to move to Ignacio. Arthur Capell had wanted to live in the mountains for many years. In 1930 he and Sally visited Montana looking for a job, but shied away from starting a new life there when they learned it sometimes is 40 degrees below zero. Then in 1938 Arthur discovered a man in Ignacio wanted to trade mail routes with someone in Ohio. Arthur reasoned that Ignacio would have a mountain climate more to his liking since its latitude is the same as that of Virginia. Sally agreed to move, wanting whatever would make Arthur happy, but she admits the move was a traumatic one accompanied by tears and more tears at the thought of leaving all her relatives and friends acquired over a lifetime. The Capell's only son Kenneth was already married and had started his life in Columbus, Ohio, where he and his wife still live. In one way the move to Ignacio was a disappointment to Arthur. Accustomed as he was to the well graveled roads in Ohio, the unimproved La Plata County Roads of 1938 were a frustrating obstacle to a rural postman. Despite her original reluctance about moving, Sally learned to love her new life in Colorado even more than Arthur did. Now that Arthur is deceased, Sally has been urged by her friends and relatives in Ohio to be "sensible" and move back home. However, Sally says "Ignacio has the friendliest, finest people and a beautiful climate. I'll never leave." Sarah Mae "Sally" Wickliff was born in her parents 3 story brick home on 39 acres near Pataskala, Ohio, in 1889. Though her father's farm was small, he worked it efficiently, rotating crops of corn and wheat and putting up hay and taking good care of his cattle. Sally remembers the beauty of the green Ohio countryside with its scattered woods and clear flowing creeks. The covered bridges in the area were useful in the summer as well as winter. Teamsters and horsemen would hurry to them during rain showers. After graduating from high school, Sally and her sister passed the state test to become teachers. They taught in country schools one mile apart for four years. Teaching was a pleasant 8 month per year job for Sally. She says she never had much trouble getting along with the students. "After the first couple of paddlings, they found out who was boss!" Sally liked square dancing, but recalls being nervous about it during the years she was teaching, since many parents of that time would criticize a teacher for disporting herself in such a manner. During this lime Sally was being courted by Arthur Capell, who had been a childhood friend since age 12. One of Arthu~s first jobs as a young man was driving a Huckster's wagon. This was a covered wagon which served as a traveling general store. He sold cloth, hardware, pots, patent medicine and groceries to farm residents who seldom traveled to town. Since many farmers had little cash, they would pay for their supplies with butter, eggs, cream and produce. Later Arthur drove a produce wagon before he accepted a job as a U.S. Postman. 24 �Sally smiles when she talks about Arthur's fast horses. Before they were married, Arthur bought a sleek black horse which he named Diamond Denmark. Sally smiles even bigger when she recalls that the purchase of Diamond Denmark. "required" the purchase of a new buggy! During the long Ohio summer evenings Sally would sit in a lawn chair listening for the hoof beats of the black horse which she could hear long before it came into view over the crest of the hill. On Sunday afternoons Sally and Arthur would hitch Diamond to the new buggy for a ride on the "Pike" near Pataskala. Arthur would travel at moderate speed until some other young blade and his gal would try to come around them. No one, she recalls was ever able to pass Diamond Denmark. When the Capells came here in 1938, Ignacio and the whole country was coming out of the Great Depression. Ignacio had the train then and Sally wishes it were still here. One Thanksgiving she rode the train back to Ohio to visit her family. Returning a few days before Christmas she remembers changing from the wide gauge to the narrow gauge train at Alamosa. The narrow gauge coaches were carpeted and very comfortable. Sally says the magnificent snowy peaks and canyons through which the train traveled in the region of Cumbres Pass was an unforgettable sight. ) ) ) J J _) _) _) ..) _) J J J J J ...J ...J ...J ...J J In 1945 Arthur got horse fever again in the form of a fine mare named Queen-of-Hearts. He built a stable and corral just across the street from his home on Browning. In 1948 "Queenie" gave birth to a little filly which was to become Arthur and Sally's pride and joy. Miss Jody Reed won races in Denver and was a source of pleasure to Arthur for many years. Perhaps the only "Colt Shower" ever held in Ignacio was held in honor of Jody's birth. Some of those who brought presents to this tongue-in-cheek affair were Paul Ritter, Lawrence Wiseman and Okla Lunsford. Miss Jody Reed, now a Regal 25 years old is in retirement on the Emmet Hott farm. When Sally Capell goes out to visit Miss Jody Reed, we'll excuse her if she sees more than an aging mare. It may be she will recapture the image of quiet rides in the Pine River Valley of a summer evening or the excited roar of the crowd at Centenial Downs and Ruidosa and Raton. It may be the apprehension at facing a new life in a new land far from familiar things and the discovery that neighborliness and generosity and friendship can take root wherever they're planted. We'll excuse Sally if she hears the singing of buggy wheels and the drumming of hooves on the Pataskala Pike, or if for just a moment she hears distant hoof beats growing clearer and more distinct until a rider on a tall black horse rises into view at the crest of a green Ohio hill. We'll excuse her because all of us have links with the past which evoke memories and reveries of great value. Today Sally Capell is a hospitable, gracious lady and a good citizen, and a good friend. We wish her many more happy years. November, 1973 -- Shelby Smith 25 � 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 Sarah Mae (Wickliff) Capell Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1973-11 Subject The topic of the resource Capell, Sarah Mae (Wickliff) Description An account of the resource Biography of Sarah Mae "Sally" (Wickliff) Capell based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the November, 1973 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 Extent The size or duration of the resource. 2 pages Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Capell, Sarah Mae (Wickliff) 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/9ecc764170eaccfdef3f8f1717b5f4ca.pdf 4f57b02d3ca91e834ecd3742e9a1f9c7 PDF Text Text WALTER AND ANNA (Liese) CARLSON Many Europeans who later became Americans were a surprise to their relatives. John Erricson Carlson's mother lived all her life 45 miles from Stockholm, Sweden, without ever having visited that city. Despite her example of staying put, John became a traveler to distant places. Being subject to the Swedish Army, John could not leave until he was 21. Then he crossed the ocean and came to Kansas where he stayed until he learned English by reading Swedish and English Bibles. Once he felt competent to use English, he moved on to Denver where he worked at a number of jobs. First he worked for the city digging sewer trenches, narrowly avoiding tragedy, when a wall of earth collapsed on him. Next he worked in the machine shop of the D. & R.G.W. railroad. Workers were expected to be on time. The gate was locked at 8:00 and latecomers were not allowed to enter for an hour. Pay was $1.50 per day. Later John was hired as a machinist's helper at the Tramway Co., one of the streetcar companies in Denver where he worked at least 8 years. Labor unions were just gaining some influence in those days. One union John told his children about was the Industrial Workers of the World, the I.W.W. which opponents claimed meant "I won't work." The Carlson's son John Walter was born in Denver March 5, 1896. "The terrace (apartment) where I was born is probably gone now," Walter says, "but it was located about where the Valley Highway (Interstate 25) crosses South Santa Fe in Denver. This was close to the Platte River across from a glass factory. We used to cross the river on a foot bridge." "When I was 5 or 6 Dad decided he wanted to farm. He bought a place on the Divide between Denver and Colorado Springs about 45 miles southeast of Denver near Elizabeth, Colorado. I started to school there, but we didn't stay long. We moved back to Denver, settling out west near Sheridan and Alameda. At that time there was a lot of open country around Denver, orchards, grain fields and dairies. For a while I herded cows for 50 cents a week. I went to Barnum school till 4th grade. Even then Denver had nice public parks and Elitch Gardens was open. It was fun to go ice skating and to ride the streetcars." In 1906 when young John was 10, his father heard about land opening for settlement in southwest Colorado. He bought a place near Tiffany and Vallejo (later called Allison) and moved the family. The trip took 4 days by train. The family loaded their possessions in 5 boxcars. This included 2 dogs, 2 horses, 2 cows and some chickens plus a rake and a mowing machine. Walter's mother later said, "We packed everything but the milk stool and it came a week later." "It was pretty hard," Walter recalls. "There wasn't a bridge, a fence or a house in sight except a house for the railroad section foreman. Otherwise it was just sagebrush. We lived under a pinon tree, not even in a tent, just under a tree until we built one room. In the fall Dad built a 12x12' house. The Shanks were already here. Mrs. Newcombe had a small store built of cedar posts. I can still remember the candy in fruit jars. Later Mr. Thomas built a store and blacksmith shop. Allison was named Vallejo by the railroad 26 �') 'I 'I 'I 'I 'I ' ' i ) ' ) i i ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) J ..) ..) ..) ..) J J J ..J J J J J J .J ..J until a surveyor named Allison Stauffer came through promoting a new irrigation system. Then the residents decided to change the name." "In the fall the men around Tiffany decided to build a school because the place was growing fast. P.M. Engler, Parris Engler, Sylvia Pargin, Una and John Rencher and Inez Rowse were some of my classmates . " "There was some rivalry between the two towns. There was a Tiffany gang and an Allison Gang. It wasn't a serious thing, but it was noticeable." "Once we went to chivaree a young couple who had just been married. He wouldn't come out of the house so we smoked him out. We stuffed gunny sacks in the chimney until he had to come out. It was the custom for the person being chivareed to treat the crowd. We took him to the store where we each got candy or some small item. The whole treat cost him 55 cents." A new family bought a farm adjacent to the Carlsons in 1916. The Liesa's had a daughter named Anna and it wasn't long before Walter noticed her. Anna Gesine Liese was born July 30,1895 at Sioux city, Iowa. Her parents were Hermann J. Liese born in Hamburg, Germany and Ottilie Therese Johanna Glander, born in Straulandsen, Germany in 1866. Hermann came to America in 1877. Ottilie didn't arrive until 1885 when she was 19. For a while she worked as a housemaid in New York City for 50 cents a week. After they were married the Liesa's lived in many places across the country. After Anna was born in Iowa, they lived in Minnesota, Oregon, Washington and finally arrived in Farmington, N.M. "What a dusty place," my father thought. A realtor there told him he might like Durango better." Hermann bought a farm in the Animas valley north of town. Anna got a job as waitress and maid at the Southern Hotel across the street from the depot. To get to work, Anna walked to Animas City, then caught the street car to the depot. A few months later Hermann decided he would like the Tiffany area better so he traded farms with a family there. Shortly after the Lieses arrived one of the neighbors played cupid by inviting both Walter and Anna to supper one evening. After supper Walter boldly said, "Are you ready to go home, Miss Liese?" Six months later Walter and Anna were married. Walter's father had a new Model T Ford, which they drove to Ignacio. Unable to find a minister in Ignacio, they went on to Bayfield where they were married on July 25, 1917. The Model T's were hard to crank, but good in the mud. Tires didn't last long on the country roads. When Walter went to Pagosa on business once it required 5 hours to go and 5 to return. He went through Bayfield, since there was no road up the Piedra Valley. Along some stretches of the road the dust was 10" deep because of the constant pounding from the lumber wagons. Walter was drafted in 1918, sent to Ft. Logan, then to Nogales, Arizona, and San Antonio. He was scheduled to be shipped to France when the armistice was signed. His total time in the army was 9 months. 27 �') 'I 'I 'I 'I 'I ' ' i ) ' ) i i ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) J ..) ..) ..) ..) J J J ..J J J J J J .J ..J until a surveyor named Allison Stauffer came through promoting a new irrigation system. Then the residents decided to change the name." "In the fall the men around Tiffany decided to build a school because the place was growing fast. P.M. Engler, Parris Engler, Sylvia Pargin, Una and John Rencher and Inez Rowse were some of my classmates . " "There was some rivalry between the two towns. There was a Tiffany gang and an Allison Gang. It wasn't a serious thing, but it was noticeable." "Once we went to chivaree a young couple who had just been married. He wouldn't come out of the house so we smoked him out. We stuffed gunny sacks in the chimney until he had to come out. It was the custom for the person being chivareed to treat the crowd. We took him to the store where we each got candy or some small item. The whole treat cost him 55 cents." A new family bought a farm adjacent to the Carlsons in 1916. The Liesa's had a daughter named Anna and it wasn't long before Walter noticed her. Anna Gesine Liese was born July 30,1895 at Sioux city, Iowa. Her parents were Hermann J. Liese born in Hamburg, Germany and Ottilie Therese Johanna Glander, born in Straulandsen, Germany in 1866. Hermann came to America in 1877. Ottilie didn't arrive until 1885 when she was 19. For a while she worked as a housemaid in New York City for 50 cents a week. After they were married the Liesa's lived in many places across the country. After Anna was born in Iowa, they lived in Minnesota, Oregon, Washington and finally arrived in Farmington, N.M. "What a dusty place," my father thought. A realtor there told him he might like Durango better." Hermann bought a farm in the Animas valley north of town. Anna got a job as waitress and maid at the Southern Hotel across the street from the depot. To get to work, Anna walked to Animas City, then caught the street car to the depot. A few months later Hermann decided he would like the Tiffany area better so he traded farms with a family there. Shortly after the Lieses arrived one of the neighbors played cupid by inviting both Walter and Anna to supper one evening. After supper Walter boldly said, "Are you ready to go home, Miss Liese?" Six months later Walter and Anna were married. Walter's father had a new Model T Ford, which they drove to Ignacio. Unable to find a minister in Ignacio, they went on to Bayfield where they were married on July 25, 1917. The Model T's were hard to crank, but good in the mud. Tires didn't last long on the country roads. When Walter went to Pagosa on business once it required 5 hours to go and 5 to return. He went through Bayfield, since there was no road up the Piedra Valley. Along some stretches of the road the dust was 10" deep because of the constant pounding from the lumber wagons. Walter was drafted in 1918, sent to Ft. Logan, then to Nogales, Arizona, and San Antonio. He was scheduled to be shipped to France when the armistice was signed. His total time in the army was 9 months. 27 �Walter was a farmer, but worked away from home a lot, too. He was a ditch rider, had 2 thrashing machines for contract thrashing and operated a grain cleaning machine which could also grind the feed. This machine was powered by a tractor until REA brought in electricity. Walter was foreman on a road crew, helped sign up people for REA and secured right-of-way for the lines. When Walter became ill in 1924 the Doctors at the Veterans hospital ordered him to quit working. He didn't obey, but he did quit farming, moved to Ignacio and started a business. He operated Ignacio Motors, handling Massey-Farmington farm equipment until 1969. The Carlson 's had five children. Irene Augusta died in the flu epidemic at the age of 6 months in 1918. Emanuel farms the home place at Tiffany. John lives in Albuquerque. Anna May Carden lives in Ignacio and Emma Shock lives near Tiffany. "In the old days," the Carlsons say, "People had to depend on one another and help one another to survive. In the summer people would stagger the butchering and pass around the meat they could not use before it would spoil. People traded fruit and vegetables with their neighbors who had different varieties. No one had to harvest alone. People always helped one another. In winter the men cut ice together until all the ice houses were full. Anna was a midwife for years. She delivered babies of all ethnic groups. Walter served as undertaker when necessary. That's the way it was. We had to depend on one another and take care of one another. On July 25, 1977, the Carlson's will have been married 60 years. We wish to congratulate them on this anniversary and thank them for the part they contributed in building this community. July, 1977 -- SHELBY SMITH 28 � 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 Walter Carlson and Anna (Liese) Carlson Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1977-07 Subject The topic of the resource Carlson, Walter; Carlson, Anna (Liese) Description An account of the resource Biography of Walter Carlson and Anna (Liese) Carlson based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith in July, 1977. 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 Carlson, Walter; Carlson, Anna (Liese) Extent The size or duration of the resource. 4 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/0938f1966092e7db8c38682b6766738d.pdf 90e4e91104c0351ecc6771c79bc27179 PDF Text Text -, ") ") ', ', JUAN RAMON AND CLEO (Vallejo) CHAVEZ } J l i ) J ) ) -, ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ..J ..) Many Canyons drain the east face of the Sambritas Range into the Piedra River. Most of them are narrow and steep, running torrents of water in the spring thaw, then gradually slackening off and drying up by mid summer. One exception is Ignacio Canyon. Partly because of a good spring, water runs in it all year. In 1904 Liberate Chavez and his wife Frances, traveled up the Piedra look.ing for a homestead site. When Liberate saw the flow of water out of Ignacio Canyon, he explored it and found a suitable place for a ranch operation. The house he built beside the creek was made of logs planted vertically in the ground like a stockade. The roof was supported by logs, crossed by poles and willows and sealed with mud. The walls were plastered with mud and the result was a small, but warm and suitable cabin. Distinct bands of blue, yellow and white clay were exposed in the walls of the canyon. The Chavez family and many of their neighbors in the river valley dissolved the clay into a thin calcimine paint and used it to finish the interior walls of their adobe homes. Liberate raised grains and hay and herded up to 250 sheep and 70 goats in the hills around the homestead and up in Brushy Basin which drains into the canyon. Frances devoted much of her time to a large garden which produced most of the family's needs. In sp1te of all his efforts to provide for their needs on the ranch, he found it necessary to work cutting timber, shearing sheep or laboring in the farms in the Piedra Valley for extra income. In the spring of 191 1 Liberate and his brother were working across the river and it began to rain. Spring rains are not unusual in Colorado, but this one wouldn't stop. The rain came in blowing torrents. Liberate and his brother stayed under cover for a day or so and still the rain came. As it continued, Liberate grew afraid. He could picture Frances and his children in the cabin beside Ignacio Creek which was already swollen with the spring thaw. He could imagine it rising higher now. Finally, Liberate could wait no longer. Since there was no chance of fording the river, he went to the D. & R. G. W. Railway bridge and his heart sank when he saw it. The Piedra was a raging, foaming rush of water. All that remained of the bridge was the rails still bolted together and swaying in the wind. Though it was foolhardy, he inched across one of the strings of rails and made his way up the canyon. The family was fine. They had packed food and clothing and were camping on a spot higher up the hill. The house survived, though the creek came close. The rain continued unabated for 11 days. When it stopped, the river had changed course in many places and familiar landmarks had disappeared forever. ....) ....) ...) ...) J ...) At the time of the flood, the Chavezes had three children: Joe, Mary and Juan. Juan Ramon Chavez had been born on August 21, 1910. His parents were married at Blanco, then lived for a while in Rosa before moving to the homestead. One of Juan's earliest childhood impressions of mountain life concerned the cycle of hard times. He recalls, "It was always hard to store enough food and save enough money for the winter. As the weather turned cold you either had enough or you didn't. There, wasn't any we lfare. The store in Rosa might give you credit. Otherwise you were on your own." ...) J J J .J .J A few years after Juan was born a very exciting thing happened in the canyon. The Candelaria•Fowler Lumber Mill was built about a mile below the homestead. The 31 �company built houses for employees, provided a commissary and put up a school house. School was open during summer so that weather would not interfere so much. Liberato worked at the mill and times were easier until suddenly it closed in 1919. The people moved and the school closed. As the years passed, Juan was given more and more responsibility with the flock. "Because of the work we never got to go to school over at Stollsteimer Creek till late in the fall. Then we'd have to quit about April 2oth because the river would get too high to ford." Juan's youngest brother, Dave was born in 1920. In 1925 when Juan was 15, his mother died of pneumonia. "It got hard then," Juan says. "II was all my father and Joe and I could do to take care of the herds and work outside for cash income. There was no more garden." In 1927 Liberate married again. After about two years a daughter was born to them, and shortly afterward Liberato's second wife died also. When this happened, the Chavezes moved out of the canyon lo a rented farm on Stollsteimer Creek. Joe left the farm to work out for wages. Shortly afterward Mr. Chavez left for the same reason. Juan stayed for a while lo help his uncle on the ranch. Haying has always been back-breaking work. It certainly was during Johnny's generation. Early forms of the machinery now used began lo appear on the farms when Juan was a young man working on the ranch. The machinery was set up by the haystacks and required 3 operators, one to throw hay out of the stack, one to feed the machine and one to tie the bales. The 100 pound bales were taken to the depot and shipped out. Juan worked 2 years for the McDonalds. He was paid 50 cents per day. That amounted to $182.50 per year. In the winter he sawed green pinon for firewood. "When the green wood is frozen hard, ii splits easily." Juan couldn't resist a pay raise when he heard about jobs paying a dollar a day over in the San Luis near Del Norte. "I irrigated and helped with haying. When this ended, I got a job as camp tender with the sheep up west of the Rio Grande near Creede. I always enjoyed living up in the high mountains. We made fish hooks out of baling wire and caught some big fish in those creeks." Johnny had several girlfriends, but the one he kept remembering was a girl named Cleo Vallejo, whom he met at his brother Joe's wedding in 1929. "She was very pretty and shy." During the next several years Johnny worked at several jobs including the Forest Service, sheep-herding and clearing land for farmers. In 1938 Johnny and Cleo were married. They lived on Stollsteimer Creek for a while before moving to Pagosa. Later the Chavezes came to Ignacio to help Joe in his shoe repair shop. It wasn't long, however, till Juan was back on the farm where he is today. Cleo's parents were Alex and Marsh Vallejo. She was born in Blanco N.M. on April 9, 1915. Alex was a sheepherder, sheepshearer and farmer all his life. When Clep was 9 months old, her parents came to Ignacio and lived in this area and Oxford all their lives. 32 �,, ,, I"") 'l 'l ,,.., J 'l 'l ) } ) Juan and Cleo were separated for several years during the 1940's and S0's, but they got back together and still live on the farm NW of Ignacio Juan bought in 1945. "We got the farm for $400.00 down. We started with one cow and a pickup. Gradually we built up our stock and raised grain. We've tried sheep and cows and back to sheep." Juan and Cleo have worked hard all their lives and as many neighbors will attest, they have also been good friends, ready to help when help was needed. Juan learned to play the violin and guitar when he was a little boy. His parents ordered instruments through the mail. At first they were a complete mystery to Juan. All he learned, he picked up himself and though times have changed and age takes its toll, Juan's love of music is something no one can take away. ) April, 1976 Shelby Smith ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) } •) ) ) ) J J .J ..J J J J J ._) J_ J ...J .J .J .J 33 � 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 Juan Ramon Chavez and Cleo (Vallejo) Chavez Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1975-12 Subject The topic of the resource Chavez, Juan Ramon; Chavez, Cleo (Vallejo) Description An account of the resource Biography of Juan Ramon Chavez and Cleo (Vallejo) Chavez based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the December, 1975 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 Chavez, Juan Ramon; Chavez, Cleo (Vallejo) 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/bba23690118b7331f99a509d2b7836a9.pdf a0e31da66d7665089489df896680523b PDF Text Text JULIUS and MOLLY TOBIAS (Buck) CLOUD "When I was born in 1895, there was no town here - only the depot and the agency and a country store over where the grade school is now. It was all Indian land from Pagosa to Utah. Not many houses. Tribal members lived in tepees and it was a good life. There were tepees all up and down the rivers." There are only the beginnings of Julius Cloud's memories of the old days in the Pine River Valley. Julius was born on May 30, 1895, the son of Edwin and Ruth Cloud. He lives on the same place where he was born three and one half miles south of town. "Ignacio was a field then. John Green used to plow a piece of ground down by the station and I liked to follow along behind and play in the soft dirt." Julius enrolled in the boarding school and then at the Allen Day School and finally, was transferred to the Indian School at Santa Fe, N.M. "It was OK at Santa Fe - not very good food, but we got to meet Indian kids from all over the country. Julian Baker and I and several other Utes were there. We had school and learned to drive a car and played football and baseball, which I really liked." After three years Julius returned from Santa Fe. He and several of his friends started an All Indian Baseball Team. "We played Mancos, Cortez, Pagosa and Silverton and by charging admission to the games, we paid for all of our trips and equipment. We traveled to and from our games in a Model T. No matter how deep the mud was, we never got stuck. Cars aren't that good today. Later-we got a Model A to carry more people, but the Model T was the best car. After we won the championship at Pagosa, we disbanded the team. James Baker was one of our best players. He later got on one of the professional teams in Denver." Julius remembers the store Mr. Burns had up near the Catholic Church. The building later was moved to downtown Ignacio across from the drug store and for a while was used to show the old-fashioned picture shows. Julius liked to go to the pow-wows. Some good ones were held at Navajo Springs, south of present day Towaoc. Julius learned to sing for the dances. He still knows some of the songs, but doesn't participate anymore because "it's too much effort." When he was about 20, the U.S. entered the First World War and Julius was drafted. He and Andy Frost, Frank Baker, George Brown and John Hays were sent to Camp Cody, N.M. for basic training. From there he was shipped to Camp Dixon, New Jersey, and from there to England and France. On the trip east, Julius' troop stopped in Chicago. He had never seen such big buildings or such smoky skies. Julius remembers, "It was so bad they had to turn on electric lights during the day and railroads ran overhead on platforms two or three levels high." As they left New York Harbor on the troop ship, everyone watched the Sta Lue uf LiiJerly slowly disappear. On the ocean Julius could noo the curvature of the earth and from the looks of it, couldn't understand why the water didn't run off somewhere. When the ship arrived in England, many of the troops had the influenza, some died. Everyone was quarantined for 21 days. Crossing the English Channel was like crossing a big river. France was a green country. All the roads were lined with trees which overshadowed the road. At every crossroads were religious statues. The wine districts were quite a sight. 34 �.., .., .., ,, .. ' ' ' ) ' ~) l ' ' -) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) J ) _) J _) J J J There were whole hillsides covered with vineyards and piles of grapes ready for the wine vats. Life at the front was pretty bad. Each soldier carried an 80 lb, pack with a short shovel for trench-digging. One of the horrors of WWI was the poison gas. As a part of training, the soldiers were sent into a room to experience a small dose of gas, Julius says, "I cheated. After about 8-10 minutes they let us out. Everyone but me was coughing and crying and struggling to get his breath, I had hid my head under my coat and breathed through my clothes. When the officers saw me, they said, "What's the matter with that Indian Chief? He didn't feel it." There were soldiers from many nations involved in the war. Julius recalls, "the Germans wore green uniforms; the Americans had khaki, Some had grey with red buttons. I think they were the British, Sometimes the shelling would be so bad that the ground would shake. A few times I felt like I should say 'Goodbye America."' Sometimes during the three years Julius while was in France, he doubted he would ever get home a.gain. After a long time of waiting, Julius and one of his friends got leave to go to Paris, expecting it to be a happy relief from the front, but Paris was a grim city, overcrowded with refugees and short of food. "We had to stand in long lines just to get black rye bread. Julius also remembers there was no real Christmas in France. One year all we had for Christmas dinner was bread, bacon and oatmeal." In 1930 Julius married Molly Tobias Buck, They had six children. The oldest was Neil, then Jerry, Elliot, Darwin, Irene and Renee. Darwin died when he was about 20, All the others survive. Life was a hard in the 1930's, but Julius says he and his family got along just fine. A dollar bought a lot in 1930. He worked as a jockey for several years and enjoyed this work very much, "When I rode for people around Ignacio, I got fifty cents every time I won a race. When the tracks opened up in Durango and Cortez, I got $2.00 and $3.00 for winning. Later Julius did some farming and some sheepherding and was on the police force. He worked as a maintenance engineer at a school in Dulce for a while. Now he leases his land and stays on the home place. Some of Julius best memories are of the years when he was a boy growing up with Max Watts and Martin Hayes. We liked to play in the water down at the river all summer and fish and make bows and arrows and run in the woods. It was a happy life. This May Julius will celebrate his 80th birthday. For a person of that age he's amazingly strong and healthy. Shelby Smith, January, 1975 J .) J J J J J J J J J J 35 � 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 Julius Cloud and Molly Tobias (Buck) Cloud Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1975-01 Subject The topic of the resource Cloud, Julius; Cloud, Molly Tobias (Buck) Description An account of the resource Biography of Julius Cloud and Molly Tobias (Buck) Cloud based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the January, 1975 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 Cloud, Julius; Cloud, Molly Tobias (Buck) 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/fd11b908dbaf557a5e51d82217620de1.pdf 6f36d48b8f8bd2a849449e26823e2645 PDF Text Text ED AND EVA (Silva) COOK Basswood Lake on the Canadian Border in Minnesota is the traditional home of the Ft. Bois Band of the Chippewas. The band has lived there as long as anyone remembers. Edward James Cook was born there in 1907. His parents, Joseph Cook and Mary Defoe Cook lived in a log house in a small village near the lake. Edward, Sr. could have maintained a simple life at the lake, but he had different ambitions. The Duluth and Iron Railroad has branch lines to the lumber camp near the reservation. Edward, Sr. went to work for the railroad. By the time Ed, Jr. was old enough .to be interested in trains, his father was an engineer. "Many times I rode in the cab of the steam engine with my father. He'd take a load of logs to the junction of the main line, then back to the lumber camp." But once back home the Indian ways prevailed. The Chippewas practiced a seminomadic life. Each family in the village had a log house which they used in the winter. But in summer, they each brought out a tepee and headed for the woods. A choice of many beautiful campsites was available and became the subject of much debating and speculation among the clan. The clan moved several times each summer according to the whim of the leaders as to the availability of fruits, nuts, berries, etc. (Lakes, ponds, streams, meadows, and deep woods were the options). Each season of the year the north woods offered their bounty .. Fruits and berries in the summer, nuts, and wild rice in fall, deer and moose to hunt all year round and maple sugar in the spring. "I can remember my grandmother boiling the maple syrup in a large iron kettle. She made sugar cakes and regular sugar - all good. In the summer time, if someone killed a moose, he would invite the whole band (5-6 families) to come share the meat. The whole bunch would move their camp to the site of the kill, butcher the animal and begin a feast with dancing and celebrating. Any meat remaining would be smoked and dried and distributed among the families." At six years of age little Ed was sent to the B.I.A. school at Pipestone, Minn. Through the years he attended a number of schools in Minnesota and South Dakota. In 1918 the flu epidemic hit the reservation hard, but since Ed's school was in an isolated area, the students escaped the epidemic. When Ed was a young man, he came to Towaoc, Colorado, to visit his sister, Tina Ulibarri. When a job came available, Ed took it and decided to stay. The B.I.A. sent him away to Diesel School so that he could operate electric power plants on the reservations. However, the most interesting thing Ed encountered at Towaoc was not a new job, but a young lady named Eva Silva. "I was a lonely bachelor and Eva was an available young working woman. We began dating and going to the movies in Cortez. Before long we decided to get married," Maria Eva Silva is the daughter of Eliseo Silva, a Santa Clara Indian and Henrietta Johnson Silva, a Southern Ute (Henrietta's Indian name was Cora.) Eva was born at her parent's home on Red Mesa in 1915. Eliseo was a hard-working, ambitious farmer. He raised wheat, hay, and all the family food -- vegetables, turkeys, chickens, pigs, geese, 36 �r') -, 'l 'J -, l J ' J ..., ) ) ) } ) ' ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) cattle, etc. San Juan and Plata, Eva's grandparents, lived nearby. Their English names were Samuel and Phoebe Johnson. "We had a beautiful life there," Eva remembers. "In those days the La Plata was a large river (before so much irrigation water was taken from it.) We played in the meadows and under the trees by the river. It was a peaceful and beautiful life. Whenever my dad wanted to visit his family, he hitched one team to the covered wagon and the other to the buggy. We followed the La Plata River to Farmington, then to Blanco where we forded the San Juan, across country to Regina, then to Coyote , and Abiquiu and on to Santa Clara. The trip required several days. We took plenty of supplies. I clearly remember the blue enamel kerosene heater Dad used to heat the wagon if it got too cold at night. The feasts at Santa Clara were wonderful. First there was a Mass, then a procession, then Indian dancing and feasting. Visitors could go into any house to eat." In 1918 this idyllic way of life was interrupted. Eva's mother and grandmother both died in the flu epidemic. A Mexican couple came to share the work on the farm and to take care of the children. When they left, Kitty Cloud came to help take care of the children. In 1920 Eliseo died of appendicitis. Eva and her two brothers were sent to the boarding school at Towaoc. In the summers they came back to Breen to stay with their uncle, Henry Johnson, on the farm. When Eva was 14, she moved to La Boca to live with her cousin Margaret Wright. Soon afterward she was sent to the vocational school at Albuquerque. Curtis Cutthair, Nettie Unca Sam and Nettie Burch Frost were all there. After she finished school at Albuquerque, Eva returned to Towaoc and was working in the hospital when she met Ed. Ed and Eva were married in 1936. Ed's career with the Indian service took him to many locations during the next 32 years. Shiprock, Toadelena, Window Rock, and finally back to Shiprock. Eva recalls, "I enjoyed living among the Navajo. I know there was an enmity between the Utes and the Navajos a long time ago, but I liked those people." _) J _) _) J J J Eva serves as chairperson of the Board of the Southern Ute Public Housing Authority. Ed keeps himself busy maintaining a beautiful yard and garden. At least they do these things when they are not traveling, which they do often. Marvin has sent Ed and Eva plane tickets to come spend Christmas with him and his family in California. We wish them a Merry Christmas and long and happy lives. December, 1976 -- SHELBY SMITH _) J J J J J J J J J J 37 � 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 Ed Cook and Eva (Silva) Cook Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1976-12 Subject The topic of the resource Cook, Ed; Cook, Eva (Silva); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Ed Cook and Eva (Silva) Cook based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the December, 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. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Cook, Ed; Cook, Eva (Silva) 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/e0263dfdd97ffb760983e83943fb3566.pdf 719da150a3b2fd0cd2e036670e723591 PDF Text Text BEN & CARMEN (Valencia) CORDOVA Joe M, Cordova and his wife Manuelita were living in Silverton in 1914 when their first child was born, Joe was stationed there to work for the D. & R.G.H Railroad. Jose Ben was born March 31, 1914, "That was a bad winter, My dad tells me the snow was 3 feet deep in Silverton, People had to dig a trench to get out of their homes. My folks left Silverton soon afterward and came to Durango. Dad got a job at the smelter. When I got old enough to go down there, I would watch them bring in the railroad cars with the ore. It was already crushed and ready to go into the furnaces. Gold, Silver, lead and other metals were extracted. Three hundred men worked there every shift. Just as kids are crazy about cars today, we were crazy about horses and rodeos. My uncle kept race horses, some of them very expensive ones. Whenever there was a race or a rodeo at the fair grounds, we would go. Once when I was still a small boy, my parents told me to stay home, but that didn't stop me. As soon as they were gone, I headed for the railroad tracks and walked all the way to the fairgrounds. I was barefooted with a pair of bib overalls and a baseball cap. I enjoyed myself and raced home before my parents returned. My Dad asked me, 'Did you go to the rodeo today?' I said, 'No, I stayed home.' Again my dad asked me, 'Did you go to the rodeo today?' I said, 'No, I stayed home,' He then asked, 'Well, who was that barefoot boy with a baseball cap and the bib overalls?' The result was a good spanking for me.'' When I was old enough, my parents enrolled me in Sacred Heart School. Little did they know I would get into a fight with a nun on my second day at school. It happened this way. I sat down behind an Anglo girl. She told me she didn't want a dirty Mexican sitting behind her. Since the backs of the seats were slatted, I kicked her a good one between the slats. When she told on me, the nun came over and shook me. I did not take this peacefully. I fought back and in the process I pulled the nun's habit off her head. After a couple of years at Sacred Heart, my parents enrolled me in Park School which liked better since it bad playgrounds and better facilities. On weekends and in the summer, I spent a lot of time with my Herrera Grandparents at Marvel, If my parents weren't going down there in the wagon, I walked. My grandfather told me I wouldn't have to walk if I could catch some of the wild burros in the hills. The one I caught was very useful. I broke him to pull a cart. In the evenings and on the weekends the burro and I went up the road west of Durango where the coal wagons passed. Coal was spilled all along the way. In an hour or so I could pick up a load of it to sell in Durango, Another way to make some money in the summer was to herd cows for the town folks. Many people in town had a milk cow, but no pasture, For $2.50 per month I would take a person's cow to the hillside south of Smelter Mountain or up on the hill where Ft, Lewis College is now to graze all day. Then before milking time I herded all of them home. I would have a bunch of them. The first few days each summer, it was a chase trying to keep them together on the way out of town and a mess sorting them out to the right barns when we got back to town, but after a few days they calmed down and knew right where to go." As Ben got older he herded sheep for the Bodos, worked on the D. & R.G. Railroad, the Colorado & Southern Railroad(which ran the Galloping Goose) and finally got a job at the Castle Coal Mine. In 1942 Ben came to the San Ignatius Festival in Ignacio and was introduced to a young lady who was a friend of Ben's sisters and his brother Vic. Carmen Valencia met Ben at the dance. Carmen says, "I liked to go on dates and to dance but if a young man showed any extra interest in me, I just turned them off. That night at the dance I wanted 38 �,...., ,...., "I ') "I J to dance with everyone, but this one man kept coming back and back. He was so persistent. That was in July. He kept coming back all summer and during the fall. Finally, we were married in November of 1942. ~") } J J ) ) J ) ') ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) .J ) _) _) _) ·J ,._) J .J ...) Carmen's grandparents came into the San Juan Valley in 1876. Five families left the Huerfano country near Walsenburg in covered wagons. They camped and traveled for three months following the valleys westward. In September the caravan arrived at Turley near the present site of the Navajo Dam. Carmen's mother, Benerita Valdez, was born that fall. She was the first baby born among the pioneer immigrants in this area. When Benerita was grown, she married Manuel Valencia. They farmed in the San Juan Valley in New Mexico until 1927. That year two of their children died within two months. These tragedies prompted them to move to Colorado. Carmen was only five years old at the time, but she remembers how her mother kept count of the number of times the family forded the Pine river on the way. Since there was no road over the ridge to Ignacio, the Valencias simply followed the river. The valley is narrow and winding and steep cliffs rise abruptly first on one side, then on the other. Benerita became curious about how many crossings they would make. She tore the hem loose from one of Manuel's handkerchiefs and tied a knot every time they reached a ford. By the time they reached Ignacio, there were 13 knots in the hem. The family leased Harry Richard's farm near La Boca. Manuel died in 1931. Carmen and her mother moved to town. "When I started to school," Carmen says, "I could speak hardly a word of English. If we spoke Spanish there, we were put in the closet. When I was 16, my brother that was supporting us, decided to get married. I decided to go to work. The pay was not high. Household work 8-12 paid 25 cents. Also, I did baby-sitting and whatever I could find. Mother watched me like a hawk. I loved to dance and mother would take me, but if I danced more then three times with any one boy, we went straight home. I was 21 when I married Ben. We moved to one of the cabins west of Durango near the Castle Coal mine. Ben's shift was from 6:00 am to 3:00 pm. I was very spoiled and not used to being alone. I was afraid of the owls hooting in the woods. Our cabin had no curtains or blinds and to top it off, shortly after we got settled there was a report of a killer on the loose west of Durango. Well, I made newspaper blinds. If there was a killer on the loose, I didn't want to see him. After a year we moved to Ignacio. Ben worked for the county for a while until he was hired by Okla Lunsford. Then Dan Sandoval taught Ben all he knew about slaughtering animals. Ben worked in the slaughter house and the locker plant all his life until he recently retired because of disability." Carmen and Ben built their own house in 1950. They hired Pete Valdez to make the adobe bricks (1500 of them for $100.00). Each brick weighed 22 pounds and had to be turned every 3 days until dry. "It was a lot of work", Carmen recalls, "but we didn't mind it, we were so eager to have our own home." J The Cordovas had three children, Vickie, who now lives in Vail; Carmen (known to most people as Dee Dee) and Charles James who died when he was 6 years old. In 1961 they adopted Anthony. There are three grandchildren who, according to Carmen, "are the light of our lives". They are Daniel Ben Ryder, Deann Carmen Ryder and Dawn Garcia. Both Carmen and Ben are busy in community and church work. We wish them many more years of happiness. -~ J February, 1977 -- By Shelby Smith ...J ...J ...J .J .J J .J 39 � 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 Ben Cordova and Carmen (Valencia) Cordova Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1977-02 Subject The topic of the resource Cordova, Ben; Cordova, Carmen (Valencia) Description An account of the resource Biography of Ben Cordova and Carmen Cordova based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith in February, 1977. 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 Cordova, Ben; Cordova, Carmen (Valencia) 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