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