https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/e23079017c56a698a864e2c9f1f95ab7.pdf 20b916a74b1814b669fbc05c39ceafb9 PDF Text Text JOHN AND WANDA (Accuttoroop) WILLIAMS In the spring of 1910 when Sam and Suzie Williams lived near Pagosa Junction, a new son was born to them. They named him John Spencer. Shortly after he was born the family moved to La Boca onto his grandfather's farm. "My grandfather mostly raised sheep and goats. That's where I learned sheep ranching." John got some sense knocked into him at an early age. "I found myself knocked to the ground more than once. You have to watch out for the Billy-goats and rams." When John's grandfather, Tom Talyon, wasn't happy with the price offered for his sheep locally, he went looking for a better market. "I learned a lot from my grandfather. He wasn't afraid to go out and do things. If the price was too low here, he would load his sheep on the train and go to Denver. I went with him a few times and learned a lot about how to do business." When John was a boy, most farmers raised some oats and wheat. The Salaba~s had a thrashing machine and would move it from place to place, whichever was ripe first. All the neighbors helped one another until everyone was finished. Mr. Barnes had a grist mill powered by a water wheel where we could grind our grain for cattle and chicken feed." Some of this grain was sold for cash, but a lot was kept for feeding on the farm. In 1918 Suzie Williams died in the great flu epidemic. John was enrolled in the Indian Boarding School north of Ignacio. After 3 years he was transferred to the Indian School at Santa Fe where he stayed till 1928. That year he was called home for sheepherding, but in 1929 John resumed school in Albuquerque for two more years. Most boys don't care for school very much, but John didn't mind it. He says, "There was a time to study, a time to learn a trade, and a time for games." Speaking of games, John, like most Tribal members was a very good athlete. He participated in baseball, football, track, wrestling, and boxing. From 1930-1949, John worked at a variety of jobs - building the hospital (which is now the Tribal Building), operating the powerhouse at the Indian School and farming. During this period John married and had three children. When he and his wife were separated, John moved to Durango to do construction work and then was offered a job at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. (Dugway was a center for uranium and chemical testing.) Most of his work there involved plumbing and construction. From there he got a job painting section houses for the railroad in Nevada. "I didn't expect to see anyone I knew in Red House, Nevada, but Manual Baca and Julian Romero were there laying track for the railroad. On a trip to Salt Lake City, John was offered a construction job at Ft. Duschene on the Northern Ute Reservation. (Local Tribal members call them Yankee Utes.) In the evenings a bunch of the young men at Ft. Duschene liked to play baseball. John was right in the middle of it. Since the Ft. Duschene Boarding School was close by the playing field, the dorm kids often came to watch. That's where John met 16 year old Wanda Accuttoroop. A short time later they were married and came to Ignacio for their honeymoon. Wanda says, "When John and I were married, he was real skinny, but I fattened him up. I think he likes ham and beans better than anything. One year later he was the Santa Claus for the Tribe and he fit the suit just right." John and Wanda have 10 children: Roderick and Ronald (twins), Stanley, John Chadd, Elizabeth, Michael, 158 �Mary Ann & Eric (twins) and Michelle and Susan (twins). Wanda says "I like my children, but when the last ones were born, I decided that was it." For three years Wanda has been a waitress at the Pino Nuche Restaurant and enjoys it. "I like to meet people, both new people and old friends." In 1956 John Williams became a milestone in Indian Health. He was the first tribal member in the country qualified and hired as Sanitarian. From 1962-1972 John was a member of the Tribal Council. During several of those years he served as Chairman. Presently, he is Resources Coordinator for the Tribe. John has lived long enough to remember many of the old ways and to see many things change. "I remember seeing the old people dry deer meat and dry and pound chokecherries into cakes. We used to be afrsiid to get wild honey, but then we learned to put on gloves and wear a net over our heads. Years ago there were so many fish in the stream in the Vega that we could drive them into gunny sacks. Then we'd boil them and dry them for winter." Though John has many good memories of long ago, he does not live in the past. When asked for his age John said, "I'm 35. I feel like I'm 35 and people treat me like I'm 35. That's why I keep working. I'm not going to fold up at 65. I have a job and a farm to take care of." May, 1975 -- Shelby Smith ) ) _) __) __) __) J -..J ._) J J J J ...) J ..J J ..J .._) ._J 159 � 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 John Williams and Wanda (Accuttoroop) Williams Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1975-05 Subject The topic of the resource Williams, John; Williams, Wanda (Accuttoroop); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of John Williams and Wanda (Accuttoroop) Williams based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the May, 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 Williams, John; Williams, Wanda (Accuttoroop) 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