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