https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/680d19a12af3ecf98a0c25412403813b.pdf e08ff19b054f52b74ced25e7130d77ff PDF Text Text LOYD & ALICE (Frahm) LUNSFORD Loyd Lunsford was born in a sod house on his parent's homestead in the Cimarron Valley of Northwest Oklahoma on April 12, 1907. His parents, Homer and Junie Lunsford staked their claim near the town of Fai,view in 1894, one year after this section of Oklahoma, known as the Cherokee Strip, was opened for settlement. Homer raised cotton and peanuts and other crops. He left the farm in 1912 to operate a cream station across the river in Cleo Springs. Then they moved far west onto the great rolling plains of the panhandle. "We settled in a little town called Sunset right in the middle of nowhere. It was 30 rough miles in one direction to Beaver City and 40 rough miles in the other direction to Shattuck, the nearest rail depot. Dad hired out to do farm work and ran the cream station. Mother operated a two room hotel for the drummers (salesmen) who came through town. When I was eight years old, I got a job doing chores for a farmer. He soon learned I could handle horses and sent me to the field harrowing with a team of four. At the age of ten they had me discing. My wages were board and room and $10.00 per month. It took all my wages, all my brother Okla's wages, and all my mother and father earned to live. I'll always remember the wind which never stopped on those plains," "When we moved to Rogers, Arkansas in 1919, we felt we had returned to civilization. There was work for all of us in the orchards and berry farms of Northwest Arkansas. Our family got along better. I was able to finish 8th grade at Rogers. During the next several years I worked various jobs: the wheat ha,vest on the plains, farm work in the San Luis Valley and ranch work in Wyoming." In 1928 Loyd rode the D. & R.G.W. train to Ignacio to visit his brother, Okla. He soon got a job driving a truck for Ignacio Transfer. The company used a one ton Model T Ford Truck and a ton and a half Dodge Truck to haul everything imaginable. Of course it was not all work in Ignacio. One night the Lunsford boys went to a dance. Okla was dancing with a gin named Alice Frahm when he asked her if she would like to meet his little brother. She said sure. That's how Loyd became acquainted with his Mure bride. Alice and Loyd had good times over the next two years. They saw the silent movies in Durango, went swimming at Tremble Springs and attended rodeos. There were frequent dances at Akers Hall in Bayfield, and at the Odd Fellows Hall in Ignacio. The music was provided mostly by local individuals who played the piano, the fiddle or the guitar. One of the best was the newspaper editor {editor of the Bayfield Blade) named Raymond Eggar. His instrument was the saxophone. He not only played at dances, but also provided mood music at the silent movies. Alice and Loyd were married in January of 1930, Alice's father, Pe1er Frahm, was born in Koblenz, Germany, and came to America when he was about 20 years old. Her mother, Ellen Meagher, was born of Irish parents either on the boat or in Canada, their first stop on this side of the world. Peter and Ellen met 103 �near Gunnison where Peter was working in the mines. Ellen's mother was cooking for the miners. After Peter and Ellen were married. they migrated into the Durango area. They traveled by horse and buggy to Silverton, where they sold their rig and rode the train on to Durango. Peter worked at the Durango Smelter for a while, then started farming. Alice was born September 9, 1907, on the farm above Fall Creek. She attended Columbus School north of Bay1ield until third grade, then went to the Bay1ield Schools through grade 12. Alice's father died in 1924 of Miner's Consumption. Alice continued milking 6-8 cows during the remainder of high school to help her mother keep the farm. After high school Alice got an opportunity which came to very few young ladies in her time. She sub-contracted the Star Route from Bay1ield to Dike and back and ii paid $105.00 per month, a mighty good wage in that time. Three days each week Alice cranked up her Model T and headed east. Sometimes she hauled passengers at $1.00 per trip, and picked up cans of cream as well as carrying the mail. The first 8 miles out of Bay1ield were graveled. The remainder was just dirt road. Alice says she was never threatened by outlaws or other unsavory types, but the trip was frightening at limes because of slick roads and steep drop offs. She got along fine with her Model T. Later she ordered a new 1929 Model A. Loyd and Alice's wedding was set for the 13th of January, 1930. There was 4-5 feet of snow on the ground and Alice had to run the mail route before the wedding. She and her mother arrived in Dike and were preparing for the return trip when the wind began lo rise. The road was well plowed, but the blizzard began to blow it full of snow again. About 6 miles west of Dike they could go no further. Alice drained the radiator and led her mother along a fence until they found a ranch house. Back in Bay1ield Alice's brother, Fred, began to get worried. He roused out the snowplow crew, who fired up their big Coleman Truck and headed east. When they found the mail car, ii didn't take long lo conclude that Alice and her mother were in the nearby ranch house. The ladies, who had been well fed and put in a warm bed by the ranch wife, were none too willing to go back out into the night and follow the snow plow back to Bay1ield. The next day Alice and Loyd were married by the Rev. Schumaker at the Presbyterian Manse in Durango. Shortly after they were married Loyd began running the mail route from Bayfield to Ignacio round trip twice each day six days a week. At the same time Alice worked in the Bayfield telephone office. In 1935 the Lunsfords moved to Dike for a year and a half working on a ranch for Earl Osborn. Next they worked for C.F. Cornelius, a millionaire, who was developing a dude ranch at Granite Peaks on the Pine River above the present day reservoir. That first summer they lived in a tent and more than once violent thunderstorms sent water flooding through their tent. Later Loyd was transferred to the ranch owned by Anne Oliver (Cornelius' ex-wife) 3 miles north of Bay1ield where ~e served as ranch foreman for eight years. In 1944 Loyd and Alice moved back to Ignacio. Loyd went lo work for his brother, Okla, and continued this job for 24 years. He butchered, drove the truck, look care of the Quarter horses and did whatever else was needed. 104 �'l ~ "") ,, 'l 'l '' J l The Lunsfords are very proud of their son, Ron, and his wife and family. For several years Ron was an alcohol and drug abuse counselor at Tooele Army Depot in Utah. Ron is still working there in the personnel department. Today both Alice and Loyd are in remarkably good health. They are grateful for long happy lives and for good health and independence. They have a comfortable home with a great view of the Pine Valley, which they obviously love. Best wishes to both of them for many more years and much happiness. ) February, 1981 Shelby Smith i 1 ' 1 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) _) _J ...) _) ...) ...J _) ...) ...) ...) ...) .J ...) ...) ...) ..) ...) 105 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Shelby Smith Interviews Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource https://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-NC/1.0/?language=en Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1973-1980 Subject The topic of the resource Ignacio; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Collection of biographies, predominantly of residents from the Ignacio Senior Center, based on interviews conducted by Shelby Smith from approximately 1973 to 1980. The abridged interviews were originally published as individual entries in The Thoughtful Years newsletter, published by the Ignacio Senior Center, beginning in 1973. They were later published as a whole in Smith's book: Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley, from which the original scans in this collection have been derived. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smith, Shelby Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Loyd Lunsford and Alice (Frahm) Lunsford Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1981-02 Subject The topic of the resource Lunsford, Loyd; Lunsford, Alice (Frahm); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Loyd Lunsford and Alice (Frahm) Lunsford based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith in February, 1981. Included in the book "Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley" by Shelby Smith. Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Lunsford, Loyd; Lunsford, Alice (Frahm) Extent The size or duration of the resource. 3 pages Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/ Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smith, Shelby