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