9 10 216 https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/7316d573862721f12617f588eb0f01d3.pdf afad8ad14c4ac849f1196158879c25cf PDF Text Text JUAN GALLEGOS Juan N. Gallegos was born May 16, 1893, in Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico, the oldest son in his family. Juan's father was a sheepherder for 45 years. In the summertime he took his flocks into the high country surrounding their home. Most of their neighbors put their flocks together in the summer and either shared the herding responsibility or paid one herder such as Juan to care for the sheep. Being the oldest son, Juan soon was traveling with the sheep camp and learning how to care for the sheep. In the summer of 1908 when Juan was 15, his father had to leave the sheep for a 3 day business trip. Juan and his cousins were left in charge. It was hot weather and the creek was cool but shallow. The boys made a temporary dam with rocks to make a nice pool for skinny-dipping. Then the thought of tobacco came to their minds. Forbidden things always seem to have a great appeal to boys. A great idea came to them when they remembered the Juan's mother did not know Mr. Gallegos was away from the camp. Word was sent to Mrs. Gallegos that her husband wanted a supply of his Bull Durham tobacco. She promptly sent it and the boys began their experiment. Though they had varying degrees of success rolling their own cigarettes and went through a lot of coughing and sputteling while trying to smoke, the boys thought it was grand getting to do such a "manly" thing. However, the boys didn1 feel so "manly" when Mr. Gallegos returned and discovered their trick. Juan learned that 15 year old boys are not too old for a good whipping. A few years after that Juan's father began hearing of homesteading opportunities across the line in Colorado. In 1914 he took a claim of 160 acres north of Dulce in the Montezuma Valley. Mr. Gallegos built a log house and made the necessary improvements to establish a permanent claim. Juan and a couple of his brothers also claimed nearby homesteads, but hard times required them to abandon the claims to find work in Utah. In 1916 when Juan was about 23, he married Matilda Gallegos. They raised 6 boys and 4 gi~s. Several years later when Juan was 39, he and Matilda decided to move to Ignacio. They came by horse-drawn sled, to Pagosa Junction. II was too muddy the rest of the way for a sled, so Juan came on to Ignacio, rented a buggy and returned for his family. Life was pretty hard in 1932. Juan worked for the W.P.A. (Works Progress Administration) and he appreciated the work, but that didn't prevent him and many other Spanish speakers from calling the W.P.A. "El diablo apie" or "the devil on fool". Later Juan got a job with the BJ.A. as a camp mover under Mr. Peterson. During W.W. II Juan's second son, Juan Joe Gallegos, was captured by enemy forces in Europe, Juan believes his son was imprisoned and must have died while there. Unfortunately, there was no definite word about his fate at that lime and nothing more certain has ever been learned. Juan and his family lived in Dragerton, Utah, during 1943-45 while he worked in the Colombia Coal mine. In 1948 Matilda died. Juan returned to Ignacio in 1951 and worked as a camp mover several more years. In 1966 Juan was married to Apolonia Herrera and they still make their home here. Partial, September, 1974 56 � 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 Gallegos Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1974-09 Subject The topic of the resource Gallegos, Juan; Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Juan Gallegos based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith in September, 1974. Included in the book "Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley" by Shelby Smith. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Extent The size or duration of the resource. 1 page Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/ Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smith, Shelby 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/00ef6b6599ca0c21e37c8beefd4dfda0.pdf deef2b18cd9072d3894f58b050727645 PDF Text Text .., 'I 'I , , ' ' ' ) ) ) ) ) , ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ~ ) _) ) ) J J _J J _J .J ..J J J J J J J J J J JULIAN S. BAKER An Indian family riding in a wagon pulled by two houses came jolting over the last hill into the Pine River Valley. Almost ready for its second cutting, the hay in the meadows was brilliant green and restful to the eyes. This time of year the river was low and clear. Here and there the family could see the flashing movements of large feeding trout. To the south they could see the depot and a few other buildings in the young village of Ignacio. Up the valley to the right was their destination, several buildings of the Ute Agency and a few homes. Julian Baker was eight years old. He had no idea this trip would mean any more to him, than any other previous trips to visit a cousin who lived near the agency and to trade for supplies in Ignacio, but it was to be very different. The next morning after all business and visiting was done, Julian's father hitched the horses and loaded the supplies. As Julian approached the wagon, his father stopped him and said, "These are your relatives here. They will be a family to you. You won't need to feel that you are away from home." Through tearful eyes Julian beheld his mother in the wagon and began slowly to understand that he was expected to stay. Almost before he could begin to wonder why this was happening a bell began to ring. "Do you hear that", his father asked. "That'.s the school bell. Do you see those boys and girls going to that building? Your cousins will be a family to you." Julian watched the wagon roll slowly toward the river, then turned and walked more slowly toward the strange building across the field. Julian recalls the winter holidays were all new to him. Until school he knew nothing of Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter. On his first Halloween celebration he remembers a great bowl of a new food called popcorn and remembers even more clearly that he ate with delight and great gusto until he was ill. Soon enough the school became a familiar and comfortable place. Most years thereafter he rode the train to Ignacio in September. Julian was born July 17, 1892, on his father's farm in a canyon behind Allison. Since the county line runs right through their place, Julian says to this day he is not sure whether he was born in Archuleta or in La Plata County. One of his earliest recollections is a clear memory of men surveying the section lines near Allison. This was done in 1896 when Julian was four years old. This government survey he observed was one incident among others leading to an exciting yet sad rivalry which erupted a few years later near Julian's home. To tell that story we must go back further into the past. Long before the Spaniards and the French and the Americans came, the Utes enjoyed a home territory and hunting ground unsurpassed by that of any other tribe in North America. Though the territory of every other tribe had advantages and desirable characteristics, the home land of the Utes, occupying the great valleys and ranges of the backbone of the continent was unusual for its size and beauty. Few tribes ever possessed so large an area or enjoyed such richness and variety of terrain. The Utes made occasional raids onto the great plains east of Pikes Peak in search of buffalo or to harry their old enemies the Cheyennes and the Arapahos who in turn made occasional raids against the Utes in the mountain regions. Finally, the whites coming with their 11 �numbers and new weapons eventually began asserting their will over the land. Julian remembers the old men who told him of the time when the American Army came to the great plains and ordered the Utes to leave. "You will no longer eat Buffalo. You will eat deer," they said. "Go into the mountains. Migrate among them. When you have found the area you like best, stay there. " Each head of a household was told to stake an allotment. (160 acres for farming, 160 acres for grazing) Rather than marking the corners of the allotment, the Indians were told to plant a large post in the center of their chosen land and each year to clear and work a larger area around the post until all 160 acres were being used. Hundreds of farms were started by means of the allotment system, before the land was surveyed. When little Julian saw the surveyors at work, he didn't begin to guess the trouble it would soon cause down the canyon aways. A Ute farmer had a farm not far from Julian's home acquired by means of the allotment. After the land survey, he discovered another Ute had acquired nearby farmland according to the survey lines and that the surveyed land and the allotted land overlapped. Rather than attempt some sort of peaceful solution, the two farmers became very angry and proceeded to shoot at one another whenever they watered their horses in the creek each claimed. The feud ended when one of them killed the other. Julian was asked for any memories of Chipita and Ouray, but he said they died a few years before he was born. Julian and Ultima Baker (the former Ultima Watts, sister of Max Watts) were married at a farm house between Bayfield and Ignacio. They had one daughter, Mary, and eight sons: Walter, Randolph, Ullysses, John, Carl, Thomas, Christopher and Clem. Four of the sons survive, John, Carl, Chris and Clem. Julian has been a farmer and rancher full or part time most of his life. He was selected to be Tribal Judge from 1947-1956. Though this is essential and important work, the pressures and mental strain of decision-making were very strong and Julian recalls, "That's not the kind of job to make anyone the most friends." Another kind of work · Julian especially enjoyed and still enjoys in his shop is carpentry. He has done a lot of construction work including some of the building at Lake Capote. In the last few years Julian has invented several kinds of bead looms and an ingenious stock chute for separating sheep. Julian will be 82 this next July. His life has been long and varied and full. He and his people have survived many challenges and coped with many changes during his lifetime. All of us appreciate his example of tenacity, courage and hard work. We wish him many years of happiness and good health. by Shelby Smith - January 1974. 12 � 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 Julian S. Baker Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1974-01 Subject The topic of the resource Baker, Julian S.; Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Julian S. Baker based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the January, 1974 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 Baker, Julian S. 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/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/7d6522d0dc6b70aa58227a6d0fe219ff.pdf fbe703a5781e8693f66b22735126265a PDF Text Text KARL and EDA (Kreuger/Olbert) HAUERT Not far from the Black Forest in the south part of Germany is the town of Baden-Baden. Andrew Hauert and his family were the latest in a long line of Hauerts who had lived and reared their families there. All the 'common people in Germany had a craft. Andrew was a weaver. He earned extra money working on the farm of a large land owner. Owning his own land was unthinkable as it was for most of the common people in Europe. ' ) l ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) J ) ,...) 'J J ...) ,...) J .._) J J J J J -..) .._) When Andrew got the idea to come to America, his brothers did not approve at all, but Andrew persisted for several reasons. Among them, he wanted to own land and he wanted to get himself and his family away from the military. All the young men in Germany were drafted, went through rigorous training and were required to stay in the army a long time. In 1893 Andrew, his wife Lizzie and their children sailed for America. His brothers were certain it was a foolish venture and that Andrew would want to return, but they were wrong. Andrew didn't stop until he reached Prove, Utah. There he worked for a while until he heard about a settlement of German people in Thompson Park between Durango and Mancos, Colorado. After moving his family to Colorado, Andrew worked in the sawmill, then he leased a ranch below Hesperus. He had $7.25 to start ranching, but he managed. It was here that little Karl, who was only 2 years old when the Hauerts came to America, began to learn farming and ranching. When Karl was 6, his parents boarded him with the Olberts at Thompson Park so he could attend school there. Fairly often the Utes, visiting back and forth between Ute Mountain and Ignacio, stopped for the night at the Olbert's ranch. Chief Ignacio was with them sometimes. "Usually, the Indians would have supper with us," Karl recalls, "and visit for a while. Once old Mr. Dibert decided to play a trick on one of the Indians. He placed a small piece of limburger cheese on his plate. As soon as the man smelled the cheese, he left the house and refused to return." A few years later Andrew bought a farm on C herry Creek in Thompson Park. Kart remembers, "That year we didn't have much money. So we skinned and ate 7 deer. There wasn't any season then. I got so tired of deer meat that year. I have never liked it again." As time permitted, the Hauerts built a large farmhouse, a barn and other outbuildings. Their water was supplied by a spring which was piped into the house. For heat the Hauerts mined their own coal. "We had to dig quite a ways back into the seam before we found good coal, but finally we found some of the best in the area." Karl and his father built a large, very strong corral. Unexpectedly, this made him some new friends and gave him a small bit of income once or twice a year. "A bunch of cowboys would round up wild horses in Utah and the Four Corners area and drive them to Denver to sell. They always stopped at my father's ranch overnight because his corral was the only one large enough and strong enough to hold the animals. They always left the best two horses for my dad. He would break them to ride and sell them to the Indians for $5.00 or $10.00 each." 79 �Karl and Minnie Melugin were married. They had three children: Ruth, Robert and Shirley all of whom were reared on the ranch on Cherry Creek. Until 1905 there was no church in Thompson Park. That year Julius Frese, an ordained minister of the Lutheran Church from Omaha moved there lo organize a church. Eventually, a chapel was built to serve the people of that area. One year the Olberts of Thompson Park sent their son Louis to accompany a load of cattle to the stockyards in Omaha. Louis was invited to stay as a guest in the home of the Rev. Mr. Julius Frese's parents, the family of the Rev. E.J. Frese. It was on this occasion Louis met 19 year old Eda Krueger, the adopted daughter of the Frees family. Louis and Eda were immediately interested in one another. "How could I not be interested in a handsome cowboy from Colorado," Eda remarks. How Eda Krueger came to be adopted into the Frese family is a very interesting and often sad story. The Kruegers also migrated to America from Germany. Eda's father, William had money enough for one person's passage. He came alone to Iowa where he worked on the farms until he could bring his wife and two children, Martha and Franz to America. They farmed the rich Iowa land directly across the Missouri River from Omaha. They attended church in Omaha where E.J. Frese was the pastor. The children went to school at the Lutheran parochial school. Two more children were born, William and Eda. When Eda was 6 months old, her mother Augusta died. In 1903 Mr. Krueger heard about available land in Oklahoma. He decided he wanted a change of scene and a new life there. In April he moved his family to a farm near Minco, Oklahoma, about 50 miles SW of Oklahoma City. He was just getting started in developing the place when he died suddenly in August of the same year. Martha was adopted by a banking family in Minco. Franz was old enough to be somewhat on his own. The Frese family in Omaha asked for Eda. She rode the train all alone back to Omaha. "They were a fine family,'' Eda says. "They kept me for 10 years and treated me just wonderful." When 15 year old William, came back to Omaha, he lived in the YMCA, worked in a grocery store and put himself through business school. His hard work and perseverance paid off. William got a good job in one of the Omaha banks. During all those years in Omaha, Eda did his laundry and kept in close touch with him. Eda and Louis Olbert corresponded for 2 years before they decided to get married. Louis did not really oppose her choice of a husband, but did not understand why she wanted to marry and live so far away in such wild country. Eda wanted a home, a place of her own, but on the train ride to Colorado, she could not help wondering just how primitive life might be in La Plata County. It was 1913 when the train with Louis and Eda puffed into Durango. "When I saw the streetcar on Main Street, I was greatly relieved. I decided if Durango had streetcars, it could not be too wild a place." "Thompson Park, of course, had no street cars, but I had no complaints about my life there. We stayed with the old Phillip Olberts until we could build a place of our own. They were always very kind to me. In the spring we started a house of our own. It wasn't Omaha. For a long time we hauled water from Cherry Creek for household use, 80 �'1 '1 '} .,..,, '1 ) ) ) ) ) l J ) ) ) but eventually Louis built a 700 barrel cistern up the hill from our house. It was a pit lined with stone and mortar and coated wit plaster. When the water was piped down to the house the whole family knew I was so excited. They all said they were going to come and watch me take my first bath." Louis and Eda had one son, Alfred. "He spoke beautiful German," Ida recalls, "but that just about had to come to an end during World War I." The war years were very hard on German immigrants. All teaching of German language in schools came to a stop. Books were burned. Some people badly over-reacted toward German-Americans and heaped verbal abuse on who exhibited a German accent or German heritage. (The final page of Karl & Eda's story is missing. I remember, though, that Louis O/bert died and later Eda marn"ed Karl Hauert. They were living in a very large, nice home on the hill west of Ignacio when I interviewed them in October of 1975. I spoke German with them, using the little I retained from a college class taken in 1956. We had many laughs over my ineptness, but they appreciated my attempts.) -) SHELBY SMITH -- October, 1975 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) _) J __) J J ..) ..) .) ...) ..) ._) ...) ... ) J ..J J J J 81 � 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 Karl Hauert and Eda (Kreuger/Olbert) Hauert Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1975-10 Subject The topic of the resource Hauert, Karl; Hauert, Eda (Kreuger/Olbert); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Karl Hauert and Eda (Kreuger/Olbert) Hauert based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the November, 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 Hauert, Karl; Hauert, Eda (Kreuger/Olbert) 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/ea15e026d2afebcca98d767d25b39a57.mp3 d08711eaf29be1947f7b711be7666862 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 Voices of Ignacio Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) Part 1: 5 minutes and 55 seconds Part 2: 2 minutes and 29 seconds 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 Katie Swanemyr Interview Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 2023-03-01 Subject The topic of the resource 4-H; Ignacio; Colorado; Local Family Description An account of the resource Listen to Katie as she shares about 4-H and more. Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/b02b3dba5655b00897e9077887c65544.pdf efdc11ea59a09b1fa865f340a7e04d96 PDF Text Text 'I 'l 'l 'l '") ~ J J LAURA (Hartley) HILL "Folks in my parent's day always had the idea the grass was greener on the other side of the mountain. That's what brought my father, James Hartley, and his parents out of ) ) ) ) J Tennessee and what brought my mother, Sally Teter and her family out of Missouri. Both families arrived at Flora Vista, New Mexico, about the same time. When mother and dad married, my mother already had three daughters from a previous marriage. . Her first husband had died. My half-sisters were Belle, Dora and Hazel. The year before my parent's marriage, dad had taken a ranch on the La Plata River northwest of Farmington, N.M. That's where I and my little brother Teddy, were born. Dad called his place "The Greenhorn Ranch" because he said all the settlers in that part of the valley, including himself, were greenhorns." ) ') ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) _) j j ..J "We had dry land about two and a half miles east of the river. The men decided to build an irrigation ditch. The contour of the land required a ditch 7 miles long which the men dug by hand with picks and-shovels. With no one to survey it, they had to eyeball and estimate the grade the best they could. They had problems with it, but it worked when they had enough water. While we were there, Teddy died of the whooping cough when he was only two years old.'' "Dad raised corn and alfalfa and a big garden. Mother canned all the food she could. I suppose we would have starved without the garden. I learned to milk the cow and feed the pigs and chickens. It was fun to milk. When I first learned, I took a 5 pound lard can, milked it full and thought I had done enough. Mother soon explained, if I started, I had to finish or I would ru in the cow. My folks were very poor, but that wasn't unusual. There were many poor people then. We drove a team and wagon to Farmington, which was about 3 blocks long or to Aztec, the county seat, which wasn't much bigger. When dad finally could buy a buggy, we thought we had something. We were so thrilled." ..At Christmas time my parents didn't have much money to spend, but I always got at least one nice toy and something to wear. You could buy a beautiful doll for a dollar. I attended the Williams School until the 10th grade. My dad served as school director with Joe Glaister and John Smith for years and years. He helped raise the money to buy materials and build the school. Frequently, we had dances to earn money for school expenses. The old school is still there. It's now used as a fire station for the community." ._) ..J ..J J J J "In 1911 every bridge was washed off the La Plata River. One or two persons drowned . Somebody a few years ago built a house close to the mouth of the river near Farmington. I don't wish them any harm, but someday that house is going to be washed away." ..._) "World War I came and went while we were still on the farm. We didn't know a lot about the time he came home from the war except what we read in the Aztec paper. It seemed very far away. I met William Hill about the time he came home from the war. He had a farm on the La Plata about 10 miles north of dad's place. We were married in July of 1926. I had one daughter, Frances, from an earlier marriage. Frances learned to love William and he loved her. We farmed the place on the La Plata and did well. Both of us loved to go. I'm still a gadfly. We traveled every year to Arizona, or California or Oregon. ..._) 83 ..._) J ..._) ..._) ..._) �We saw all the sights. William liked to gamble. Sometimes we would stop at Reno. He got good at those games. If he started to lose, he'd walk away for a day or so. If he started to win, he stuck with it and sometimes made a lot of money. Of course ii didn't cost much to travel then. Gas was about 15 cents a gallon. When we were first married, we had a Model T Roadster. We got to Portland, Oregon, just as they were having a gas war. We filled up with 10 cent gas and took off down the street. A little further down the road we saw a place offering 9 cent gas. William said, 'I have a notion to go to the edge of town and dump this and fill up with 9 cent gas,' but he didn't." "William and I had no children of our own, but we had a wonderful life on the farm and on our trips. By 1950 William was not able to work any more. He suffered from emphysema caused by the poison gas he breathed during the war. The next 16 years he was in and out of the veteran's hospital until he died in 1966." "I moved to Ignacio to be near by daughter and son-in-law Frances and Dick Baird, and their children. Three of my grandchildren also live in Ignacio, Janneth King, and her brothers Clifford and Dale. Richard Baird lives in Arizona and Bill is in California." "Things in this country have changed a lot in the last 50 years. When I was a little girl, the road over the hills between the La Plata River and Aztec was hardly a road, but I loved to go on that rough trail then just as I love to go now when travel is easy.' Shelby Smith -- Taken in June of 1979. 84 � 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 Laura (Hartley) Hill Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1979-06 Subject The topic of the resource Hill, Laura (Hartley); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Laura (Hartley) Hill based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the June, 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 Hill, Laura (Hartley) 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/811e36683b7e2b91fbdc955e3e6c2fcc.pdf 60eddc04b8c5de3fe9eecb20416d02b4 PDF Text Text LAWRENCE & MARGARET (Bowman) WISEMAN Margaret Summers Bowman was born ln Durango, Colorado, December 8, 1905, the third child of Thomas and Etta Bowman. The Bowmans lived at 760 3rd Avenue. Margaret has wonderful memories of this house, since she lived there until she was married. Just down the street across from Smiley Jr. High was the original Durango School. All twelve grades were in the one building until the high school was built. Margaret's older brother, Bill, was out of school and Lena, her only sister was in 12th grade. } ) ) ) ) ) ) J ) .J .J .J ..J _) .) _) ..) ~ _) J We didn't keep our own horses and buggy. Most everything we needed was close and the area had good public transportation, too. The town had a streetcar, which all the children loved to ride. We could go all the way up to Animas City, almost as far as the present location of the Silver Spur restaurant, for picnics at Animas Park. This was up the hill among the trees and rocks with a good view across the valley. Sometimes, on the 4 th of July and on other occasions we went to Brookside Park located on Main where the Chamber of Commerce Office is now. There were swings and slides and the creek where the children could play. If anyone wanted to go to Silverton or Telluride or Ignacio, they could ride the train which was without question the fastest and most comfortable way to travel. Whenever Dad needed private transportation, he would hire a "hack" from one of the livery stables. This included a d.river and made a good impression on visitors arriving on the train. Our family was greatly involved in church. On Sunday mornings we attended Sunday School and Church. On Sunday evening we went to Christian Endeaver. Then on Wednesday evening was prayer meeting. On Sundays there was no playing, no shows or other entertainment. We read our Sunday School Lesson or did something quiet. Occasionally, Dad took us to the Vienna Restaurant after church and once in a while he would take me for a walk. Otherwise, Sundays were quiet and rather unexciting." Both of Margaret's parents were immigrants into this part of the country. Thomas was born in Wisconsin in 1845. His parents were named Dibley. When both of them died, he was adopted by the Bowman family. Boys cannot stay away from exciting events. This was true of Thomas when the Civil War started. He just had to go and he had to practice a little deception to join the Union Army at the age of 16. Of course, Thomas had been taught never to lie. Before going to the induction center, he wrote the number 17 on a piece of paper and placed the paper in his shoe so that he could swear in good conscience that he was over 17. Thomas survived the Civil War; then entered the University of Wisconsin at Madison where he stayed until he acquired a Ph.D. degree in science. In the 1870's and 1880's opportunities were wide open in every direction in this developing country. Thomas chose to come to Colorado to work as a metallurgist. First he came to Silverton prospecting one his own and working for the mining companies. Later, he moved down to Animas City and went to work for the smelter. ~ ~ J ...) J 1 75 �In 1887 Thomas noticed a new girl in town. Etta Louise Summers came to Durango from Ohio to escape the damp climate of the East. She stayed with her sister, the wife of the Rev. Mr. James Coffman, who established the first Methodist Church in Durango. Etta taught school in Durango for one year. After Thomas and Ella were married, Thomas continued working at the smelter for a number of years. Before Margaret was born, they decided to open the T.E. Bowman Book and Stationery Store on Main Street right next to Penny's. The family operated the store until Thomas died in 1923. Durango is full of new businesses with new names, but a number of the old ones are still there. Among them are the Strater Hotel, Graden's Department Store, Parson's Drug, Richey's and Taylor-Raymond Jewellers. The New York Bakery was then called Purrung's Bakery and the General Palmer Hotel was the Savoy Hotel. Margaret had known Lawrence Wiseman since 8th grade. They were casual friends at school and in the years following she saw Lawrence now and then on the street. After finishing school Margaret attended business college in Greeley. Once while she was home, Sam Gilcrest called to ask her to go on a blind date. To her surprise the blind date was Lawrence Wiseman. From then on there was no one else. Margaret was offered a job at Pueblo, but Lawrence changed her mind. They were married in 1927. Lawrence was working at Durango Hardware for several years until it went bankrupt during the depression. After that he worked at whatever he could find. Suddenly, a totally unexpected opportunity appeared. Mr. Biggs who owned Biggs Hardware in Ignacio asked Lawrence to run the business for him. Lawrence didn't know how to figure a board foot, but was delighted for the opportunity. He rented a room in Ignacio and rode the train back and forth from Durango on week-ends. In 1932 Margaret and her mother moved lo Ignacio so Lawrence could stop the commuting. At first they rented the house where the Holts now live and later moved across the street. During the depression years Lawrence sold hay and grain which he had taken in as payments on bills. After living all her life in a larger town, Margaret was uncertain how she would like living in Ignacio. However, after a few weeks here, Margaret decided she was very happy with her new home. Today she says she wouldn't want to live any other place. In 1950 Lawrence bought out Mr. Biggs and changed the name of the store. Life in Ignacio was different, of course, in the early years. "We had to go to bed at 10:00 P.M. because the lights went off. I remember once we had a group of friends from Durango for a supper party. We told them they would have to leave before 10:00 because the lights go out. They laughed like they didn't believe it and decided to slay. Sure enough when 10:00 o'clock came, everything went black and our friends had a time of it finding their coats and hats." "Lawrence and I liked to travel. In fact, that was our favorite pastime. We took trips all over this country and a few overseas to Hawaii and Jamaica and Bermuda. Once we went to New York City lo see the musicals. My Fair Lady was going strong when we were there. Our favorite kind of trip was simply to go to the airport and buy the first two tickets available wherever it was. Going like this we never knew where we would find 176 �'1 '1 -i '1 -i '1 '1 1 l l ' ' ' ourselves, but we discovered some of the most interesting places. Arriving without reservations was uncertain, but we always had good luck." Lawrence enjoyed his work and especially enjoyed the people in Ignacio. After he sold the store to Tom, Lawrence continued to work for him part of the time. However, it also gave the Wiseman's more free time to travel or follow other pastimes. Lawrence died suddenly in February of 1976. The people of this area miss him very much for his friendliness and good spirit. And, of course, Margaret misses him, but she is fortunate because all her memories of Lawrence are good ones. ) We wish Margaret and her family many years of happiness and good health. January, 1977 - Shelby Smith ) ) ) ) ) ) "> ) ) ) ) ) ) ..J J _J J ..J _) .J ._} -.J .J ..) ._} ._} ._} ..._) ..._) 177 � 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 Lawrence Wiseman and Margaret (Bowman) Wiseman Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1977-01 Subject The topic of the resource Wiseman, Lawrence; Wiseman, Margaret (Bowman); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Lawrence Wiseman and Margaret (Bowman) Wiseman based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the January, 1977 issue of "The Thoughtful Years" newsletter published by the Ignacio Senior Center. Later included in the book "Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley" by Shelby Smith. Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Wiseman, Lawrence; Wiseman, Margaret (Bowman) 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/6ce052274bd8e5e50f9a36047bd15ece.pdf 457808b0a35eddf90a9fac11a65f0384 PDF Text Text LEE AND BESSIE (Briggs) PENNELL "My dad, Robert Lee Pennel, was born at Van Wert, Ohio in 1879. He moved west to Ft. Collins for a while, where he was employed by the Rocky Mountain Bee Company. My mother, Caroline Wood, was born in England in 1889 and moved to Ft. Collins with her parents when she was 14 years old. My parents were married in Ft. Collins in 1909 and moved over to Ignacio in 1912, when I was 2 years old. Dad rented a box car to transport his cow, his horses and several bee hives. We lived in town several years while dad built up his bee business. I attended the old grade school located on the same site as the present Ignacio Grade School. By 1917 dad's business was doing well enough for him to buy a Kissel truck. It had no windshield and no top. We built a box bed for it about twice as long as a pick-up bed for hauling the bee hives. Dad started teaching me to drive while I was very young. I soon thought I was a hot driver and liked to drive fast. Driving, however, was only a warm weather pleasure. Before winter dad drained the radiator and put the truck up on blocks. Harry McJunkin, Clyde Galwyck and I had single speed bicycles with small tires which we used to ride all over the place. In the summer we were often down on Ignacio peak digging caves. I could go wherever I wanted except downtown. Dad had the notion I would get into trouble if I hung around there. So unless he sent me on an errand or mother sent me on an errand with a note to prove it, downtown Ignacio was off limits. This order kept me away most, but not all of the time. I can still remember the day I was playing a game of pool in the pool hall, a definitely forbidden place. I heard dad's voice at the front just in time to make a very rapid exit out the back door. Dad and I decided I should go to the School of Mines. In order to meet the entrance requirements I had to enroll at the Ft. Lewis School the last two years of high school to take physics and other courses not available in Ignacio. However, none of this worked out because about the time I was to leave for Golden, I got appendicitis. In those days an operation was a serious thing and recovery took a long time. By the time I was feeling good again, it was too late to go to school. I started doing auto repairs for Bill Liese's Garage. I got $1.25 per day working from 7:00 a.m. till 8:00 p.m. Soon after this my dad's health began to fail and he turned the bee business over to me. Also, about this time, I began to notice a girl named Bessie Briggs. She lived at Allison but sometimes visited her sister in Ignacio and attended some of our dances." "Bessie Brigg's Grandfather Briggs moved from England to Canada and then to the United States. Her father, James Briggs, was born at Hazelhurst, Mississippi, and lived in Illinois and Kansas before moving to Rocky Ford. James was a camp cook for a ranch. He married Martha Ella Miles at Rocky Ford. They moved to Allison, Colorado, and homesteaded the Rainwater Ranch. Bessie's grandfather Briggs homesteaded the place where Mrs. Little now lives. Bessie was one of 9 children. Her oldest brother, Elmer, and her youngest brother, Jim Jr. are both deceased. Ethel lives in Durango, Isabel in Albuquerque, Vali in Durango, Lester in California, Ruth in Bayfield and Opal lives at Red Mesa." 130 �~ ') ') '"") ') 'l 'l J ) '' -1 J ) ' ) ) ) } ) ) ) ) _) ) ) J When Bessie was 5 years old , her mother died. The older children helped James take care of the younger ones. "Dad was a good gardener," Bessie remembers. "He raised fruits and vegetables. We had plenty of meat except in summer when there was no way to keep it. I attended school at Allison for 10 years then boarded with the J.E. Ball family in Durango to finish high school. 1 worked for my board and room, but was treated like a member of the family. I was about to enter college at Ft. Lewis when Lee Fennell and I decided to get married," "Lee and I packed our bags the morning of December 1, 1933, and took off in his 1928 Chevy coupe for Durango. The road was muddy and the ruts were so deep we almost bogged down several times. We were married by the Rev. Schumacher at his home. After the ceremony, we left for the Grand Canyon. Our route went through Gallup and Holbrook to Flagstaff where it was snowing hard. When we got to the canyon, we stayed at Bright Angel Lodge for $2.50 per night. The El Tovar was $11. 00 per night. There was a road across the Navajo Reservation through Kayenta, but we were warned that the roads were ungraveled and sometimes impassable and also that gas might be as high as 50 cents per gallon. Since we were accustomed to paying 15 to 25 cents, that sounded awfully high. We came back through Flagstaff." "Back in Ignacio we rented an apartment from Ray Hills in what is now the Peaceful Spirit Center. Later we moved into Carlson's house and finally into Lee's parent's house after they moved back to Ft. Collins. In 1945 we traded our house in town for Mrs. Payne's place on the hill where we still live. In the old days, we got only 4 or 5 cents a pound for honey. Lee used to have 600-700 hives, but now maintains only about 60. He was the local bee inspector for 20 years. During the 40's Lee served two terms on the town board and in the 50's was on the school board." The Pennells have four children. Robert is a teacher in Las Vegas. Ann lives on a ranch in Oklahoma. Thomas works at a missile tracking station near Barstow, California, and Charles is a counselor at Berthoud High School in northeast Colorado. They have 9 grandchildren .) .) .) Bessie remarks, "We sometimes wish we lived closer to some of our children, but what other place would be as nice as southwest Colorado?" By Shelby Smith, Taken October, 1979 J ..J ..J J ..J J J J J J J ...J ...J 131 � 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 Lee Pennell and Bessie (Briggs) Pennell Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1979-10 Subject The topic of the resource Pennell, Lee; Pennell, Bessie (Briggs) Description An account of the resource Biography of Lee Pennell and Bessie (Briggs) Pennell based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the November, 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. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Pennell, Lee; Pennell, Bessie (Briggs) 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/e3bb4533135bb9fe432bb2bab98d39ac.pdf a5ee6245f83d649be4757f3e964f26a8 PDF Text Text LENA (Bowman) WITT Lena Elizabeth Bowman was born June 6, 1894, in Durango at her parents home at 760 Third Avenue, Her mother, Etta Louisa Summers, came to Durango from Ohio in 1889 to teach school. She stayed with her sister Margaret Coffman, whose husband, James Coffman, was the Methodist minister in Durango, In 1890 Etta married Thomas Bowman, a metallurgist at the smelter, Thomas, who was 19 years older than Etta, was a civil War veteran. After the war he obtained his degree in Metallurgy at the University of Wisconsin, then came west to Silverton to work in the smelter which was later moved to Durango, Thomas' first wife died of typhoid fever in Denver in 1889. When he married Etta, he not only worked at the smelter, but also owned a stationery store on Main Street in Durango. Lena, her brother Bill, and her sister Margaret all took their turns working in the store and all of them, as Lena recalls, took turns raiding the candy counter quite often. Lena started school at Longfellow in 1901 and graduated from Durango High school in 1913. Emory Smiley was the superintendent during those years, "When I was a child, we had to make our own pastimes," Lena remembers. "I can recall the long summer evenings when we'd ride our bikes under the arc lights on 3rd Avenue until late at night. One of our favorite pastimes was picnics. We'd walk up Junction Creek or Lightner Creek or ride the streetcar to Brookside Park. The first silent movies in Durango were shown outside at the park. Looking back I realize the pictures were not top quality and the movements of the actors were jerky, but we didn't notice that. We thought it was wonderful. Sometimes we rode the train to Tremble Springs 10 miles north of Durango, where we'd stay in the hotel, take hot baths and enjoy the good food. All the children in town liked the 4th of July because of the fireworks. My dad sold them at the store, so we usually had our choice of the rockets and Roman candles." Lena stayed home one year after high school, but in the summer of 1914 her parents sent her to a teaching institute in Silverton. The purpose of the institutes was to explain teaching careers to young people. Lena stayed with a family named Lamont. Mr. Lamont, she remembers, was a rather aristocratic man of English extraction. Along with the school, entertainments and outings were provided for the participants Lena and her group traveled north of Silverton to visit a mill and mine and to ride the cable car between them. The cable car turned out to be an ore bucket swinging along a cable over an enormous ravine. All Lena knew to do was grit her teeth and hang on, Lena attended teacher training at the college in Greeley, received her degree after two years and returned to teach grades 1-6 at Tremble Springs. Her wages of $65.00 per month were good for that time. The widow Schluter provided a room and marvelous meals for $15.00 a month. Lillian Thompson taught grades 7-10 in the same building. Though Lillian had lost an arm in an accident, she preformed her school duties well and drove her Model T to school every day. In spite of the good wages and pleasant living conditions, Lena says it was a difficult year. Some of the students, especially the older students in Lillian's room, were serious discipline problems. During the next two years Lena taught at Cottonwood School on Florida Mesa where she walked to school from the Gram's farm. Some of her students were Howard and Ray Self, Emily Cicily and the Perino and Gerardi children. She can still remember the school Christmas programs staged at the Florida Mesa Grange Hall. 178 �~ " '1 "l '1 '1 '1 ' ' ' ") ) J ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) _) _) ..J ....) _) _) ....) J J J While Lena was teaching at Ridges Basin, she met Ray Pierce, who owned a dry farm nearby. They were married and moved to Durango. Ray drove a big team hauling coal and Lena worked in Hunter's Music Store. The marriage did not last long. After they were separated, Lena got a job teaching grades 3-5 at Animas City. At a teaching institute at Mancos the following summer, Lena met the superintendent of schools from Yuma, Colorado. He needed a 4th grade teacher and hired Lena on the spot. Lena was settled in Yuma when her father died December 6, 1923. She resigned her job intending to stay home with her mother for several months. However the superintendent at Bayfield soon learned Lena was not working and convinced her to teach 3rd and 4th grades in Bayfield. While working in Bayfield, Lena met Jack Garrish, a World War I veteran. They were married on Christmas Day in 1925. They stayed in Bayfield until 1926, then moved to Ignacio. Jack built a blacksmith shop behind Mr. Anderson's filling station. When Jack's brother-in-law died, he and Lena moved back to Bayfield to help his sister operate a Silver Fox farm. In 1933 they moved to Durango for three years and then moved to Canon City where Jack worked as a guard at the prison and later worked as overseer at the prison blacksmith shop. Lena had an active, fun life in canon City with many friends. In 1940 Jack was very ill at home for three weeks. Lena took him to Fitzsimmons Military Hospital in Denver for treatment. Jack died the first night there. In January of 1941 Lena returned to school at Greeley for three semesters to update her teaching methods. In 1942 she took a job northeast of Wray, Colorado, at the Alvin School. Teachers were expected to stage a ;Literary' onGe a month. This was a program consisting of music, readings and plays. Almost the whole community turned out because there was little entertainment in the lonely sand hill country. At first Lena viewed these programs with apprehension, but later learned to enjoy and take pride in them. One of the most memorable ones featured a Steven Foster minstrel show. In 1943 Lena married Guy Doyle. In subsequent years Lena taught at Laird, Colorado, at Haigler, Nebraska, at a country school near Vernon, Colorado and at Iliff north of Sterling. Guy worked at various jobs during those years. About 1954 Guy and Lena decided it was time to quit working, so they settled at Wray. Guy had asthma pretty bad and in 1958 he died of a coronary attack. Lena moved to Ignacio in the summer of 1959. During the next 10 years, she worked as a substitute teacher in Ignacio and lived on Browning Street in the house next to Tommy King's house. Lena never expected to leave Ignacio again, but she became acquainted with Bill Witt and they were married on July 27, 1969. He was 78 and Lena was 75. Bill owned a nice home in a good neighborhood in northwest Denver. Bill died 14 months after they were married. Lena loved her home in Denver. She left only for occasional trips. One of her favorites was a trip to visit relatives in Washington State. While there Lena got to ride the ferry to Victoria, British Columbia, to see the world famous Butchart Gardens and to have tea at the Empress Hotel, one of the old hotels still following the English traditions. In 1978 Lena's sister Margaret Wiseman invited her to return to Ignacio so that they could spend their last years together. Lena moved in November of 78. Margaret became very ill that winter and died in January of 1979. Today Lena enjoys a pleasant association with her nephew, Tom Wiseman and Beverly and also has numerous friends and old acquaintances in Ignacio. We wish her many more years of happiness and peaceful life. J J J ....) J -....) October, 1980 -- Shelby Smith 1 79 � 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 Lena (Bowman) Witt Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1980-10 Subject The topic of the resource Witt, Lena (Bowman); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Lena (Bowman) Witt based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the October, 1980 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 Witt, Lena (Bowman) 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