4 10 216 https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/85a6aeb51fd1f19ce567e4bb28dc7f91.pdf 3994ca571b3e9da48988cb2e4579275c PDF Text Text -. 'l t t , , J , i 'l l ' ) ) ) ) ) °) ) ) } ) ) ) J ) J ) _) J HARRY RICHARDS While Peter Snow Richards (better known as Pieah Richards) and his wife Emma were living on a ranch north of Buckskin Charlie's place, north of Ignacio, a son was born to them. It was October 17, 1886. Little Harry was a strong, healthy boy. At that time most of the Utes could still hunt with bows and arrows and as Harry grew up he was taught to make his own weapons and to hunt the old way. In those days there were very few Mexicans and Anglos in the area. A few agency people and one or two store owners and their families were here. Otherwise tribal members had the land to themselves. As a child and a young man Harry led a life most American children would envy today. He fished and hunted. He learned the crafts and traditions of his people, participating in the dances and feasts. He helped his father and grandfather and played boyhood games all the while untroubled by the shadow of school. All good things seem to have a way of ending. In 1899 when Harry was 13 his grandfather put an end to the free and easy life. One half mile north of the agency was a mission school taught by the blacksmith's daughter. Harry was sent to class. The best thing he remembers about school that year was the two week Christmas vacation. He had no idea what plans his grandfather had for him for the following school year. "One day a man I'd never seen before showed up at our place. My grandfather told me I was going with him to the Ft. Lewis School to learn English. I didn't know anything about it until they told me to get into the wagon. There wasn't any chance to run away o-r anything." Harry went to school two years at Ft. Lewis. He learned English, got acquainted with the latest farming techniques and a few other subjects. "That was enough school for me," Harry states. At the age of 18, Harry decided it was time to earn some money of his own. His first job was with the agency. It was hard work, often with a pick and shovel, but a person couldn't be choosy. Jobs weren't too plentiful. To the best of his memory, Harry earned $1.25 per day. That doesn't sound like much but $.25 would buy a lot of groceries in 1905. By then Harry was living on Spring Creek and rode a horse to work every day. It was a fairly long ride and tiresome, especially when there was farm work to do at home afterward. _) ..J _) .J J .J .J J When asked how he met his wife, Harry smiled and said, "It was different then. If you wanted to marry a girl, you would go ask her father. He might say 'no' or he might say 'yes'. If he said 'yes' he would call his daughter out and you would take her home with you and you were married." Sometimes the girl's mother or grandmother would object to the match. When this happened, the grandmother might put the couple to the smoke test. This consisted of putting the couple in a tepee, building a smoky fire inside the tepee and sealing up the tent flaps. As the tepee filled with smoke, eyes watered and breathing became difficult. If the boy broke out for fresh air before the time allotted by the grandmother, she ran him off and he couldn't come back. If he endured the smoke ...) J J J J 13 9 �until the grandmother was satisfied, she would open the tepee and the couple was free to marry. Harry married Mary Tobias. Unfortunately, Mary died about 3 years later and there were no children, Afterwards Harry moved to Taos and married a tribal member there. A daughter was born. Harry likes the Taos people very much and still goes occasionally to visit his daughter and her children. After about three years in Taos, he moved back to the Pine River Valley. Personal travel was very slow when Harry was young. A trip to the Uinta Reservation in Utah required 15 days with a horse and buggy. For this reason, when trips were made, people stayed a while. Time for another one probably wouldn't come for some while. Harry's brother Bob was appointed Tribal judge and held that post for several years. Whenever Bob was needed to hear a case, the tribal police would have to ride a horse out to Spring Creek to bring him in, After a while this became so inconvenient that the tribe suggested that Bob and Harry take an assignment of land nearer to town. The new assigned land is about 2 miles east of town and Harry has lived there ever since. About 13 years ago, Bob and Harry were given an unusual opportunity. They were offered the ctiance to adopt a baby boy. Most men in their 60's would not be interested in giving their lives to the care of a child. Many would not feel competent, but Bob and Harry did. They raised little Ross from an infant, loved him and gave him good care. The County Wettare Department questioned the suitability of this arrangement several times, but could find no fault with the care Bob and Harry were giving the baby. Bob died in 1972. Harry and Ross still live on the farm. When Harry is not gardening, he is involved in craft work for which he and all his people should be proud. Harry makes bows, arrows, spears, drums, and feathered ornaments for use on ceremonial occasions. His work is very beautiful and valuable. Not many people skilled in these crafts remain. Harry is looking forward to his 89th birthday this fall. That's getting pretty old, but Harry doesn1 act it. He still works his garden and gets around very well. We wish him many more peaceful, happy and productive years. Shelby Smith. July 1974 � 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 Harry Richards Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1974-07 Subject The topic of the resource Richards, Harry; Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Harry Richards based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the July, 1974 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 Richards, Harry 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 https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/0db9665e2a48b45e50b85ead13bd66ca.pdf 18cd0e0065773a004a12838b15590a0a PDF Text Text 'l ~ 'l J '> JOSE AND CAMILA (Casias) QUINTANA J J It was mid-morning when three riders descended from Middle Mesa and rode over the rolling country toward the railroad section house at Vallejos (later called Allison). In the 1890's the section house was the nearest thing to a town in this lonely stretch of Southwest Colorado between the Pine and the Piedra Rivers. The few non-Indian immigrants who were camped in the area came to the section house occasionally for news and to obtain water from the large storage tank. The three riders were members of a group of young men who came into the San Juan country to round up and sell the many wild longhorn cattle which roamed the hills and valleys. Every so often a group of wranglers from California showed up to buy the cattle and drive them west. On this day the riders had no reason to expect anything unusual at the section house. They had been here several times before, but today the place was unusually quiet. There were no horses in the corral and the door of the house was blowing open and shut in the wind. No one answered when the cowboys knocked or called. Then the men saw frightened eyes peering out of a nearby window. Inside were the section manager's three children ages 2, 4, and 6. They were nearly starved. The oldest one said their parents left after an argument and each had taken off in opposite directions. An intense discussion followed among the three cowboys as to what to do with the children. After much head-scratching each of the men took one of the little ones home to raise with their families. Neither parent ever showed up again. Jose says all three children grew up within 60 miles of Allison. '' ' ) ) ) ' ' ) .) } ) -) ) ) ) _) ) ..) _) .J .J J J .J .J J .J J .J J ...J J J 0 J A fourth member of the round-up crew (not present on the day the children were found) was Pedro Quintana. Pedro was born at Abiquiu, New Mexico. After working with the round-up for a while, Pedro got some land at Rosa, New Mexico, and started farming. He married Juanetta Lucero. The Quintanas had 14 children. Jose was number 12. He attended school at Rosa for two years and then had to stay home to herd sheep on the free range up on Caracas Mesa. It was a carefree life of riding horses, swimming in the river and roaming with the herds. "The sheep my dad owned," Jose recalls, "were on shares with a man named Ed Sargent from Chama. One other man, myself, and our dogs took care of 1,200 sheep . In 1922 when I was 16, my Dad decided to take his share of the animals and turn the rest back to Mr. Sargent. We drove his flock from La Fraqua 18 miles to Jewel Canyon and turned them over. By that year my dad was getting too old to work so hard, so he said to me 'As of today Jose, you are a free man. I raised you; now you take care of me.' That's what I did. I soon got a job on the railroad at Arboles under a foreman named Andres, Martinez. One whole summer I worked clearing and cleaning the tracks of mud and debris that washed down the many arroyos. We worked our way over to Ignacio. That's where I met Camila. She had come from Chama to Ignacio for her sister's wedding. We got acquainted at the dance. Another summer we worked to raise and reset the tracks unto a gravel bed for better stability. It was hard, heavy work. From 1924-28 I worked at the mines and on the railroad at Silverton ." In 1928 Joe began farming and raising cattle which he has done the rest of his life . When Joe and Camila decided to get married in 1936, he bought an 80-acre irrigated 137 �ranch near Rosa for $1,200.00. The wedding took place in Ignacio. Pedro Casias, Cristino Casias, and Andy Duran played their guitars and violins at the dance. Camila's parents were Jose Casias and Manuelita (Martinez) Casias. Manuelita died when Camila was five. Camila went to live with her brother Pedro and attended school in Ignacio. One of the pleasures of her young life was to sing in the choir at the Catholic Church. "We sang songs in Latin, in Spanish and in English and I really enjoyed the music. We have three children, Charles, Lorene and Mary Esther. In 1944 Joe bought the farm over by Arboles where we still live. For a long time we farmed the Rosa place and this place until the government took our place at Rosa to clear the ground for Navajo Lake. Joe made a bid on the old section house at Allison and got it and the bunk house for less than $300.00. He moved it over to our place and put a new roof on and worked it over inside and out. We've been here ever since." Neither Jose nor Camila are a,; strong as they used to be, but they still keep cattle, pigs, sheep and goats and raise all the hay they can. Recently, they donated some land for the construction of a new Catholic church al Arboles. They will be very proud when the "San Pedro and Santa Rosa Church' is completed. Shelby Smith 138 � 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 Jose Quintana and Camila (Casias) Quintana Biography Subject The topic of the resource Quintana, Jose; Quintana, Camila (Casias); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Jose Quintana and Camila (Casias) Quintana based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. 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 Quintana, Jose; Quintana, Camila (Casias) 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 https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/ada775bd6d7c834e1f9aa748c6b1b0bc.pdf 0adef8fe0adfa5a012a00f994728602a PDF Text Text ~ ., ' ' ''1 ' ', l '1 ) ") , ") ) ) ) ) ) ) \ EPIMENIO & ADELA (Mascarenas) QUINTANA Jose and Natividad Quintana were loading a covered wagon with all the necessities and valuables they could carry. The remainder they sold or gave away to their friends in Abiquiu, New Mexico, for they were about to start a long trip to the North. It was the year 1900 when Jose and his wife heard about the opportunities developing in the San Juan Valley near the Colorado line. They talked it over and decided to go there. Settling near Rosa, they bought some land and opened a general store and blacksmith shop. At first they were in partnership with Jose's brother-in-law. Later each man owned his own store. By 1910 when Epimenio and his twin sister were born, (the youngest of 11 children) the family was well established at Rosa. Epimenio says "My twin sister died when I was 5 months old and then my mother died when I was one year and three months old. One of our neighbors, Candelaria Valdez, took me to raise as her own. I kept in touch with my father and my brothers and sisters, but Mrs. Valdez was a mother to me. I started to school at Rosa and finished 8th grade at Arboles. When I was old enough, my Dad let me work in the store and taught me some of the blacksmith trade." "In 1929 when I was 19, I got my own sheep. Most of the time I grazed them on Federal Land leased from the Dept. of the Interior on Middle Mesa. The lease cost about $0.13 per head. Most winters the snow was not deep enough and did not last long enough to be a problem, but in 1931 I lost one third of my flock in the deep snow. Prices all went down in the 30's. We got 12 cents per pound for wool and 8 cents a pound for lambs." ) ) ) _) _) .) _) J ...) _) ...) ..J ...) ..J ..J In 1941 when Epimenio was thrashing grain for Manley Hott, he got acquainted with Adela Mascarenas. Adela's father, Celestino Mascarenas had been born in Clayton, New Mexico, later migrating with his parents to Rosa, where he met and married Magdalena Quintana in 1922. They were homesteading on their first farm when Adela was born. "I was born in our cellar on the homestead. That was the first dwelling my parents built on their farm. We lived on that place until I was 4 years old. Then we moved to Silverton where Dad worked in thE~ Treasure Tunnel Mine. I have good memories of those years. It was wonderful to live in Silverton as a child. If you were a dare-devil, which I suppose I was, there were many adventures waiting. I don't know how we survived the railroad pump cars. A bunch of us would sneak down to the rail yards, crawl up on one of the hand operated repair cars and pump it out of town into the mountains. When we were high enough, we coasted back to town. The car wou'ld squeal around the curves nearly turning over and nearly throwing us off. Once into the flat part of town, it gradually slowed down and stopped in the rail yard. Though we did this many times, no one ever stopped us or warned us not to do it again. While in Silverton, I met my future husband for the first time. Epimenio was herding sheep in the high mountains near Pyramid Peak. Since it was only about 28 miles to Silverton over the passes, he decided to come to La Fiesta de los Boregerros. He stayed with relatives near our home and pastured his burro nearby. I decided to ride the burros. I grabbed J J ...) ..) ..J .,,) 135 �their tails and swung my feet up into the hollow of their hind legs just above the knees and rode them all over the place. You tell me why they didn't kick." "I didn't see Epimenio again until we moved back to Rosa. Through the years as I was growing up, I saw him occasionally at dances, but had no friendship with him until I was 18. While we were both working at the Holt's farm, Epimenio began to talk to me. Al first I was not interested in him, but he was nice and I began to think that since we were both interested in cattle and sheep and liked farm life, perhaps we could be happy together. We were married in October, 1941. Epimenio was drafted in 1942. He was sent to Camp Roberts, then to Hawaii and on to the Solomon Islands. The native people were very friendly to Americans, but the Japanese planes and snipers were not so friendly. Epimenio's unit guarded the airfields on Espiritu Santu Island. After 17 months he was sent back to Hawaii and San Francicso for hospitalization. When Epimenio got home, he and his family spent one summer in Aztec before moving back to Rosa where he did farm work until 1960. The Quintanas have 10 children: Nattie, Esther, Baltazar, Epimenio Jr (deceased), Elaine, Bernard, Freddie, Larry, Selina and Jeanette. In 1960 life was rudely interrupted in the San Juan Valley. All the people in Rosa and in the valley above Navajo Dam had to move out to make way for the rising, waters of Navajo Lake. The government gave Epimenio $1,900.00 for the 12 acres he had inherited from his mother. It wasn't enough, but people had to take what they could get. "We moved up on Stollsteimer Creek for one summer until we found this place to buy west of Ignacio. We've been here ever since and are very happy with this place." May, 1978 -- Shelby Smith 136 � 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 Epimenio Quintana and Adela (Mascarenas) Quintana Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1978-05 Subject The topic of the resource Quintana, Epimenio; Quintana, Adela (Mascarenas); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Epimenio Quintana and Adela (Mascarenas) Quintana based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the May, 1978 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 Quintana, Epimenio; Quintana, Adela (Mascarenas) 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 https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/a9e7970740dd8b03dbec081255ce8cda.pdf 4fc42a2afaf116a1ccfa50d844dd03ef PDF Text Text MARY (Conroy) PATRICK & MARTHA (Conroy) POTTER Two small round faces stared big-eyed out of the train window at the bustling Union Depot of Denver. Streams of people were departing and boarding the train. Porters were pushing carts of luggage across the platform and hawkers were selling peanuts, apples, sandwiches, coffee and lemonade up and down the aisles of the coaches. The Conroys decided to stretch their legs. Mike helped his wife Lydia down the steps, then lifted down his 4 year old twin daughters Mary and Martha and his 5 year old son, Charles. Though ii was fall, Mary and Martha clearly remember a band nearby was loudly playing "In the Good Old Summer Time." The Conroys were enroute from one way of life to another. Nine years before, Mike, the son of a Manhattan, Kansas farmer caught the fever for the land run into the Cherokee Outlet. He was there on that hot day in 1893 with 180,000 others waiting breathlessly for the shot fired by the cavalry men along the border which signaled noon and the opening of the land run. Mike had a wagon and two white horses. His competitors, stretching along the border of this vast land both to the right and to the left to the horizons and beyond were mostly people like him hungry for land of their own. Most had horses and wagons, but some had sleek race horses, a few were astride highwheeled bicycles and a few with very determined looks on their faces were afoot. Mike was one of the lucky ones. He managed to slay fairly near the front of the raging sea of horses and to find a good piece of land. Others were not so lucky. Horses stumbled, wagon wheels shattered, gullies opened unexpectedly in front of racing throngs and swallowed animals, wagons and people. Men who staked opposite ends of a claim shot at each other to decide who owned the land. This northwest Oklahoma territory was a trying land to farm. When the rains came Mike was amazed at the crops it would produce, but it was heartbreaking during the dry years to see the wheat sprout and wilt and turn brown under the relentless sun. Mike sold his land in 1902 and decided to go to the mountains. After a brief rest the family reboarded the train. When they arrived in Pueblo, they visited an aunt for several days. The girls had never spent much time in a town of the size of Pueblo. On afternoon the girls were out playing hide-and-seek with their cousins and the neighbor children. Mary hid a little too well. Unfortunately when she ran across the corner of the block to hide, no one found her. By the lime she decided to return to the yard she had lost her sense of direction. Finally a man passing by look her to the right address. The remainder of the trip to Durango took much longer than expected. When the Conroys changed to the narrow gauge train at Alamosa, the sky was grey and threatening over the mountains. Snow was falling so hard at Antonito that the train was delayed several days. Most of the passengers including the Conroys lived on the train until the passes were cleared. Mike bought a dairy farm on Florida road east of Animas City. Though Animas City had only two stores, Mary and Martha liked to go there. Quickly they learned that Mike Kennedy, who owned the general store, was a pushover. The two little girls would mosey over to the candy counter and stare longingly at the display until Mike would ease over with a big smile and give then each a sample. "I suppose we were spoiled 132 �.., ~ 'I "1 'I "1 brats," admit Mary and Martha. "We always were babied and made over because we were twins." When the girls were 5 and Charles was 6, they all three started in the first grade at Animas City School. Good weather and bad their father put all three on the ) ) -) ) -) ) ) ') ) ) ) ) same horse for the ride down the valley to town. Animas City was the end of the line for the Durango Trolley. Whenever the family needed a better selection of goods they rode the trolley into Durango. Since Animas City had no high school, the girls went into Durango after grade 8. Both were members of the girls basketball team and both loved to dance. "Our parents were fairly lenient. They usually let us to go to dances and parties whenever and wherever we wanted to go." Being a twin was handy now and then, too. Once when Mary faced a stiff German exam, she let Martha who was a year ahead of her in German, sit in for her. Neither the students nor the teacher caught on. Both Martha and Mary decided to become teachers. College training was not required in those days, but it was necessary to pass a stiff exam. Martha taught in the Waterfall School in the Animas Valley and then moved south of Ignacio to teach the Harvey School. While there she boarded with the Fred Harvey Family. "Sometimes we still visit Mrs. Harvey in Durango. She's about 92 now." Finally, Martha taught at the Hood School 4 miles NE of Elmore's Store uniil she was married. ) ) ) ) ) Mary's first school was the Fairview School near Oxford. Then she went to Holder School on Spring Creek, Mason School on Florida Mesa and finally she taught at Morrison South, north of Ignacio. As it is today school teaching was a satisfying, but very demanding job. Mary and Martha frequently opened their schools for dances and box suppers. "Most of our dance music was accompanied by piano and violin. Guitars were not too common at dances then." } ) _) ) _) _) _) J _) ..) ..J ..) ...) J J J ....) J ...J .J Both Martha and Mary admit to a string of beaus during those years, but when asked for names and more details, they replied, "Let's leave that out. 11 One episode they will tell (minus the boy's name). Martha had a date to go for a buggy ride with a certain young man. The afternoon of the ride Martha became very ill and asked Mary to go in her place. "He will never know the difference," Mary recalls. Beyond this, they each admit to one feller, their husbands. Martha met Marvin Potter at a Grange Meeting at the Morrison School. They were married in Durango on December 14, 1919. "We drove out to Ignacio in a horse and buggy on what must have been the coldest day of the year. It took 6 hours and was nearing evening when we arrived." The Potters have 4 children. Donald lives in Montrose. Jean Mcclanahan lives in Ignacio. Stanley is in New Jersey, and Irvin is in Dallas . When Mary was 22, she met Leslie Patrick at a dance. She and Leslie were married in Durango on June 4, 1922. After the wedding ceremony, they rode the train to Ignacio and as soon as they arrived at the farm , Leslie put on his boots and went right out to irrigate. "That's the way life was then, 'l Mary says. "We had to work like the dickens. We milked cows, separated the milk and sold the cream. We never could make a living just from the farm. Leslie always had to have another job as ditch rider, or carpenter or something else to earn enough." The Patricks have 2 children. Lee Patrick lives in Gallup, New Mexico and Eleanor Stansberry lives in Basalt, Colorado . 133 �During the long winter months of the 1920's the Potters and the Patricks came to town regularly to play basketball at Burns Hall. The ladies enjoyed it as much as the men. "Getting there was the hardest part. Sometimes the road would be a string of mud holes. Everyone but the driver would have to get out and push." In the spring and summer it was baseball. Marvin, Leslie, Louie Morris, Fred Robinson and others the ladies have forgotten, were on the team. "In 1926 both our families went on a wild goose chase," the ladies recall. "We packed up and headed for California. In Los Angeles one of the men got a job on the docks; the other drove a team." After a few months the Potters moved on to Fresno where they had relatives, but it was suffocatingly hot in the summer. Finally, after visiting relatives in Oregon for a short while, both families decided to return to Ignacio. "None of us ever seemed to feel at home out there. When we crossed the Colorado line west of Dove Creek, Leslie stopped the car, jumped out, threw his hat in the air and let out a wild yell of joy. That's just how glad we were to get back to Colorado." Martha and Mary started life together 76 years ago. Now that Marvin and Leslie are gone, it seems right that they are together again sharing life and memories. When asked what they think about being twins, they both reply, "It's great having a double. I'm sure we've always been closer because of it." Shelby Smith - May 1974. 134 � 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 Mary (Conroy) Patrick and Martha (Conroy) Potter Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1974-05 Subject The topic of the resource Patrick, Mary (Conroy); Potter, Martha (Conroy); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Mary (Conroy) Patrick and Martha (Conroy) Potter based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the May, 1974 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 Patrick, Mary (Conroy); Potter, Martha (Conroy) 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 https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/6ce052274bd8e5e50f9a36047bd15ece.pdf 457808b0a35eddf90a9fac11a65f0384 PDF Text Text LEE AND BESSIE (Briggs) PENNELL "My dad, Robert Lee Pennel, was born at Van Wert, Ohio in 1879. He moved west to Ft. Collins for a while, where he was employed by the Rocky Mountain Bee Company. My mother, Caroline Wood, was born in England in 1889 and moved to Ft. Collins with her parents when she was 14 years old. My parents were married in Ft. Collins in 1909 and moved over to Ignacio in 1912, when I was 2 years old. Dad rented a box car to transport his cow, his horses and several bee hives. We lived in town several years while dad built up his bee business. I attended the old grade school located on the same site as the present Ignacio Grade School. By 1917 dad's business was doing well enough for him to buy a Kissel truck. It had no windshield and no top. We built a box bed for it about twice as long as a pick-up bed for hauling the bee hives. Dad started teaching me to drive while I was very young. I soon thought I was a hot driver and liked to drive fast. Driving, however, was only a warm weather pleasure. Before winter dad drained the radiator and put the truck up on blocks. Harry McJunkin, Clyde Galwyck and I had single speed bicycles with small tires which we used to ride all over the place. In the summer we were often down on Ignacio peak digging caves. I could go wherever I wanted except downtown. Dad had the notion I would get into trouble if I hung around there. So unless he sent me on an errand or mother sent me on an errand with a note to prove it, downtown Ignacio was off limits. This order kept me away most, but not all of the time. I can still remember the day I was playing a game of pool in the pool hall, a definitely forbidden place. I heard dad's voice at the front just in time to make a very rapid exit out the back door. Dad and I decided I should go to the School of Mines. In order to meet the entrance requirements I had to enroll at the Ft. Lewis School the last two years of high school to take physics and other courses not available in Ignacio. However, none of this worked out because about the time I was to leave for Golden, I got appendicitis. In those days an operation was a serious thing and recovery took a long time. By the time I was feeling good again, it was too late to go to school. I started doing auto repairs for Bill Liese's Garage. I got $1.25 per day working from 7:00 a.m. till 8:00 p.m. Soon after this my dad's health began to fail and he turned the bee business over to me. Also, about this time, I began to notice a girl named Bessie Briggs. She lived at Allison but sometimes visited her sister in Ignacio and attended some of our dances." "Bessie Brigg's Grandfather Briggs moved from England to Canada and then to the United States. Her father, James Briggs, was born at Hazelhurst, Mississippi, and lived in Illinois and Kansas before moving to Rocky Ford. James was a camp cook for a ranch. He married Martha Ella Miles at Rocky Ford. They moved to Allison, Colorado, and homesteaded the Rainwater Ranch. Bessie's grandfather Briggs homesteaded the place where Mrs. Little now lives. Bessie was one of 9 children. Her oldest brother, Elmer, and her youngest brother, Jim Jr. are both deceased. Ethel lives in Durango, Isabel in Albuquerque, Vali in Durango, Lester in California, Ruth in Bayfield and Opal lives at Red Mesa." 130 �~ ') ') '"") ') 'l 'l J ) '' -1 J ) ' ) ) ) } ) ) ) ) _) ) ) J When Bessie was 5 years old , her mother died. The older children helped James take care of the younger ones. "Dad was a good gardener," Bessie remembers. "He raised fruits and vegetables. We had plenty of meat except in summer when there was no way to keep it. I attended school at Allison for 10 years then boarded with the J.E. Ball family in Durango to finish high school. 1 worked for my board and room, but was treated like a member of the family. I was about to enter college at Ft. Lewis when Lee Fennell and I decided to get married," "Lee and I packed our bags the morning of December 1, 1933, and took off in his 1928 Chevy coupe for Durango. The road was muddy and the ruts were so deep we almost bogged down several times. We were married by the Rev. Schumacher at his home. After the ceremony, we left for the Grand Canyon. Our route went through Gallup and Holbrook to Flagstaff where it was snowing hard. When we got to the canyon, we stayed at Bright Angel Lodge for $2.50 per night. The El Tovar was $11. 00 per night. There was a road across the Navajo Reservation through Kayenta, but we were warned that the roads were ungraveled and sometimes impassable and also that gas might be as high as 50 cents per gallon. Since we were accustomed to paying 15 to 25 cents, that sounded awfully high. We came back through Flagstaff." "Back in Ignacio we rented an apartment from Ray Hills in what is now the Peaceful Spirit Center. Later we moved into Carlson's house and finally into Lee's parent's house after they moved back to Ft. Collins. In 1945 we traded our house in town for Mrs. Payne's place on the hill where we still live. In the old days, we got only 4 or 5 cents a pound for honey. Lee used to have 600-700 hives, but now maintains only about 60. He was the local bee inspector for 20 years. During the 40's Lee served two terms on the town board and in the 50's was on the school board." The Pennells have four children. Robert is a teacher in Las Vegas. Ann lives on a ranch in Oklahoma. Thomas works at a missile tracking station near Barstow, California, and Charles is a counselor at Berthoud High School in northeast Colorado. They have 9 grandchildren .) .) .) Bessie remarks, "We sometimes wish we lived closer to some of our children, but what other place would be as nice as southwest Colorado?" By Shelby Smith, Taken October, 1979 J ..J ..J J ..J J J J J J J ...J ...J 131 � 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 Lee Pennell and Bessie (Briggs) Pennell Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1979-10 Subject The topic of the resource Pennell, Lee; Pennell, Bessie (Briggs) Description An account of the resource Biography of Lee Pennell and Bessie (Briggs) Pennell based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the November, 1979 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. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Pennell, Lee; Pennell, Bessie (Briggs) 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 https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/4d963a50d298d8851a123d1b5eca404d.pdf a94ebf08896c81dde01c3d2857e8fb3c PDF Text Text E.F. AND GRACE (Anderson) PATRICK E.F. Patrick's father, Washington E. Patrick, was born at Morocco, Indiana, near Ft. Wayne in 1957. When "Wash", as he was known, moved to southwest Colorado with his parents and his brothers in 1879, they entered an unspoiled wilderness. The family settled on Vallecito Creek above the present reservoir site where Witt's End Ranch is located. Wash's brother, William, soon moved on to Ashland, Oregon. Marian went to Pagosa, where he managed the hotel and bath house at the springs. Later he managed the Keeley Institute in Denver. Wash, Lee and Milton built a fish hatchery on Vallecito Creek. The fish were sold to the hotel in Pagosa and to the restaurants in Durango. Wash got acquainted with John (Jack) Parsons, who was a clerk in Charles Newman's Drug Store in Durango. Later John bought the drug store and operated it for many years. John and Wash teamed up to acquire Electra Lake, where they built a fish hatchery. This successful operation lasted until Western Colorado Power Co. was able to condemn the land around the lake to build a power plant. While operating the hatchery at Electra, Wash met John's sister -in-law, Rose Allen. They were married in Durango in 1891 . After losing Electra, Wash built a hatchery above Trimble Springs. Rose and Wash had three children, Hazel, Emerald Flint and Harold Allen. Emerald was born in 1902 and was named for the two beautiful lakes above Vallecito Reservoir which Wash liked so much. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) J J .J J J .J .J .J J ...J J ..J J ...J ..J ...J The merchants in Durango were well aware of the success of Wash's hatcheries. They decided a hatchery in Durango would be an asset to the town, so they asked Wash to collect money from various businesses to buy land on the river and to build a hatchery, which they hoped the state would later take over. Wash became so well known as a hatchery expert, he was hired as State Superintendent of Hatcheries with an office in the state capital building. His family lived in Denver for nine years while he supervised the building and operation of the first state hatcheries all over Colorado. When the Patricks came back to Durango, Wash worked as a government trapper for several years, then trapped for himself until he moved on to California. E.F .'smother, Rose and her parents, Zachariah and Harriet Allen, came to Colorado in a covered wagon drawn by oxen. The wagon train in which they traveled survived several Indian attacks, during which Rose and the other girls loaded rifles for the men as fast as they could. The Allen's lived in Denver 2 years before going to Pueblo. In Pueblo, Zachariah built the first shingled house in town and constructed the old court house and one of the early public schools. Mr. Allen ran for public office and was elected Sheriff. The family moved on to Del Norte in 1874 where Mr. Allen was elected city marshal!. In 1875 he was accidentally shot and killed by his deputy, Jack Lewis, who had been assigned to guard a group of horse thieves. Hearing that friends of the horse thieves might attempt a jail break, Allen gave Lewis a heavily loaded shotgun and told him to shoot the first man who appeared in the door of the jail. After attending a dance, Marshall Allen went to the jail, called to Lewis, who apparently failed to hear him, stepped inside and was shot. He lived only a few days . 127 �Several years later Harriet Allen married Cyrus Newcomb, a Justice of the Peace at Del Norte. Later they moved on to Durango where Rose Allen met Wash. In 1923, when Wash was 66 years old, he became very ill with uremic poisoning. Doctors in Durango gave him only a short time to live. The family immediately took him to a doctor in California who got the illness under control. Wash was active during the next 15 years. He and Emerald built and supervised a hatchery in Mill Creek Canyon east of Redlands for a senator who lived in San Bernadina. Pat had been writing to a young lady who was teaching school near Ignacio, Colorado. He and Grace Anderson had known one another since they were both children and had managed to stay in touch through the years. Pat and Grace were married in Durango on September 15, 1927. They immediately headed for California where they settled to help Pat's father operate the hatchery. Grace's father, Wilburn Anderson was born in Mt. Airy, Georgia. He ran away from home when he was 15 to join the Army during the Spanish-American War. After spending a period of time in the Philippines, he was transferred to Ft. Apache, Arizona, with the troop which was assigned to capture Geronimo. While in Arizona Wilburn met a young lady named Eva Bryan, who lived at Pinetop, 30-40 miles north of the fort. After Eva and Wilburn were married, he left the army and went to work for the railroad. He was a part of the crew which built the line to the Grand Canyon and constructed the hotel in Canyon Village. Eva's father had a store at Pinetop, later moved it to Kirtland, N. M. and then opened a store at the Pine River Indian Agency before Ignacio existed as a town. Finally, he moved his store down by the Ignacio depot. Wilburn and Eva Anderson had four children: George who was born at Winslow, Arizona; Grace Evelyn, who was born in Durango; Dorothy, born in Salt Lake City; and Don, who was born in Ignacio. "We lived for many years on Browning Street in the Red house now owned by Jesus Martinez," Grace says. "We moved to Ignacio when I was in third grade. I remember attending school in the rock school house located near the present grade school. I got to attend the Indian School for the 8th and 9th grades. The San Ignacio Fiesta was even more fun in those days than it is now. One reason was the efforts of a colorful citizen named Fabian Martinez. Fabian was fairly wealthy. He owned a bar in the south end of town and generally was a successful businessman and a benefactor of the Fiesta. One event I'll never forget was the fat man's race. Without fail Fabian, who himself was short and very large, would assemble 8-10 well proportioned men at one end of the main street. As you can imagine the whole town had a delightful time laughing, cheering and teasing the participants as they huffed and puffed their way to the finish line." Grace attended the last three years of high school in Denver in order to receive a diploma from an accredited school. While there she boarded with Nell Marker. After high school Grace went to college at Gunnison. She taught at the Harvey School until she and E.F. Patrick were married and moved to California. 128 �'1 '1 ') ') ,, ') J J J l l ") ') ) The Patricks survived the depression operating the hatchery near Redlands. Wash Patrick died in 1936. Grace and Pat planned to continue raising fish, but nature interrupted the work in 1937. An enormous rain caused a flash flood which destroyed most of the hatchery. For several weeks it was difficult to get supplies, since the bridges were out. When World War II started, Pat went to work for the shipyards at Los Angeles, then supervised a steam plant at Norton Air Force Base near San Bernadina. In 1949 the Patricks returned to Colorado. Pat built a fish hatchery for a sports club at Electra Lake. They spent the first winter in a cabin near Electra snowed in most of the time. When George Anderson became ill, Pat and Grace ran the bulk plant for him until he could work again. Pat continued working there until he retired. In the early 1950's Grace started filling in for Nell Marker at the Post Office and soon worked into a full time job. When she retired, she had completed 23 years of Postal Service. ) June, 1978 - Shelby Smith ) ' ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ..) .J ..J .J .J .J ..J .J .J .J .J ..J J J .J I~ 129 � 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 E. F. Patrick and Grace (Anderson) Patrick Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1978-06 Subject The topic of the resource Patrick, E. F.; Patrick, Grace (Anderson); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of E. F. Patrick and Grace (Anderson) Patrick based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the June, 1978 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 Patrick, E. F.; Patrick, Grace (Anderson) 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 https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/0557ab0cf89ea38565d8c2f3571f6e41.pdf 458f762fe91c0d8e5c11276b2aec9fd2 PDF Text Text FRANK PADILLA Frank Padilla was born at La Jara, New Mexico, (near Cuba) in 1903. His parents, Jose Rafael Padilla and Alcarie (Mestes) Padilla, had three children whenhe was born. They are Beatrice, Amalia and Cleotilde. The Padilla's moved to Arboles, Colorado when Frank was one year old. His father worked for the D. & R.G. W. Railroad building track. His foreman was a Japanese man. The "extra gang", as the Japanese crew was known, created quite a stir of interest since most of the local people had never seen Orientals before and had certainly never seen anyone eat so much rice. Frank says he attended school at Arboles for one year, then went to college at the sheep camp. Sheepherding was Frank's life work. Many of those years he was employed by Salvador Rodriquez, an uncle of Fred Rodriquez. Except for a few trips to Grand Junction and Utah and one memorable trip to Los Angeles, during which he missed a bus connection and toured all over Pueblo and Denver, Frank has spent his whole live in the Arboles/lgnacio area. Frank has never been married. During the interview we teasingly asked him whether he had ever had any girl friends. He set us in our places by replying the only lady he is interested in is the Virgin Mary. Frank's devoted religious faith is well known in this community. If the people of Ignacio were asked to name the person who is the best neighbor in town, Frank would be one of the winners. For many years Frank has taken care of the grounds at the Catholic Church. Since moving to one of the senior center apartments, he has watered and hoed all the fiower beds and swept and cleaned the walks and the parking lot. Every spring Frank visits both the Catholic and the nonCatholic cemeteries to search for untended graves. He removes the weeds and cleans every grave which appears to be neglected. In his daily walks between Ignacio and the Senior Center he picks up and disposes of the litter along both sides of the highway. All these tasks are performed without thought of payment and apparently without any resentment that others do not help. For these reasons we are pleased to honor Frank Padilla as our Senior Citizen of the month. He is a responsible and dignified resident and has set an admirable example for the rest of us to be a friend and neighbor to our whole community. September, 1979 - Liva Pacheco & Shelby Smith 126 � 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 Frank Padilla Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1979-09 Subject The topic of the resource Padilla, Frank; Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Frank Padilla based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the September, 1979 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 Padilla, Frank Extent The size or duration of the resource. 1 page 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; Pacheco, Liva https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/26c5a0f99ced7740ee5329b5c2927e27.pdf f718bc83d79aa7452a3d27e0e7eafcb1 PDF Text Text 'l .., .., ~ ~ JOHN & DOROTHY (Billings) OLBERT ' ' ' ' John Phillip Olbert's father, John Olbert was born in Simheimbaden, Germany in 1865. He migrated with his parents to Illinois in 1879. "My dad often told me how hard life was in Germany for the common people," John Phillip remembers. "People like my ancestors who had no land couldn't get any. However, the harsh military rule bothered them as much as the land shortage. As soon as a son was old enough to be useful to the family, he was drafted for several years into the army. So they came here wanting land and less government control of their lives. The family farmed in Illinois for several years. John left home when he was 21 and went to work for the Pullman Company in St. Louis." ) ' } } ) } ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) J J _) ..J ..J _) ..J ..J ..J ..J ..J ,J "After a couple of years, he came on west, stopping in Colorado. Pueblo was booming as a smelting and railroad center. Dad got a job helping to build the rail line over Marshall Pass from Salida to Gunnison. He worked a mule team skidding logs to build snowsheds to divert avalanches over the tracks. John settled in Telluride for the winter and acquired an unexpected job. He had done quite a variety of jobs, but 'never expected to be a nurse. The smallpox epidemic which broke out among the miners did not affect John, since he had been vaccinated in Germany. So many of the miners were either deathly sick or weak during recovery, that Dad was recruited as a Doctor's helper. While in the area he became friends of George West and Bob Hott. They began hearing tales of all the gold that could be panned out of the sand bars of the Colorado River. One summer they gave it a good try, but no one got rich." "Dad took off on his way to see the Navajo country and arrived back in Durango in 1889 when he was 24. He homesteaded at Thompson Park for a year, then moved into Durango to work at a local brewery located just north of the old high school and just east of the City Market. When Dad was 31 years old he married Margretha Geisler. My mother, who was 14 years younger than dad, was working in Durango and living with her sister, Mrs. Sponsel. My parents lived in Durango until 1915 when they bought a farm near Oxford." John Phillip was 12 when his parents moved to the farm one half mile west of Oxford. "Moving from a city school with graded classrooms to a one room school with grades 18 was quite a challenge for me. I'll never forget the first day there. Mr. Crosby, the teacher left for a while to check on his wife who was expecting a baby soon. While he was gone, some of the rowdy boys knocked the stovepipe down. This resulted in a thorough sooting of the room. Crosby questioned each of us to learn who was guilty. I was telling the truth when 1 said I didn't know, because I did not know anybody's name that day." "Dad used about half his land for grain crops and the rest for hay and pasture. Every farmer in those days had chickens, turkeys, and a bunch of milk cows. It was common to see 20-25 five gallon cream cans on the railroad platform. Part went to Durango. The rest was sold to Alamosa or Colorado Springs for better prices. Even 2-3 cents more per pound was a help." J ..J ..) ..) 12 3 �John Phillip and his brother Ernest went together to buy a new 1928 Chevrolet from Mockers in Durango. It cost $600.00 which they paid in cash after selling some cattle. This was not the first car in the family. Their dad had owned a 1914 Buick and a 1924 Ford Pickup which cost $400.00 John Phillip, his mom and dad, went to California in the pickup in 1928. They really squeezed into the cab but made it. Gas was about seventeen cents per gallon that year. In the late 1920's John Phillip was still not married, but decided to build a log house for himself. He cut and hauled logs (6 or 7 per trip) by team and wagon from the hills near Vallecito and cut his own shingles. The house wasn't quite finished when John met Dorothy Billings, the new School teacher at Oxford. Dorothy was born near Hermosa north of Durango on February 21, 1911. Her dad, Edwin Booth Billings, was a native of Jaynesville, Wisconsin. Her mother, Myrtle May Williams was born in Iowa. Myrtle's family settled near Windsor, Colorado, in 1890, later migrating in covered wagons to the Animas Valley via the San Luis Valley, Creede, Lake City and over the pass to Silverton. "My parents were truck farmers north of Durango", Dorothy says. "I went to Trimble School until I finished 1oth grade and graduated from Durango High School in 1925." Dorothy took two years of teacher training at Ft. Lewis College and came right to work at Oxford for one year and the following year" at Trimble School. John and Dorothy were married in 1931. Until their log house was finished, they lived in the Kennedy house a quarter mile west of Oxford. So many young couples started their lives in this house, it came to be known as the bridal suite of Oxford. The Olberts have 3 sons, each of whom is married and has two children. Phillip, the oldest, lives in Boulder. John Richard, usually called "Dick", lives in Palos Verdes, California. Donny is a Lt. Commander in the Navy at San Diego. John's father died in 1931. Those were hard years for everyone and the Olberts were no exception. Prices for farm products were low and the area suffered a bad dry spell in 1934, but they worked hard and were able to keep their land. When the effort began to unify the Allison, Arboles, Ignacio and Oxford School Districts in 1958-59, John was on the school board. He listened to all the arguments and got several good cussings when he supported the consolidation. Though he was aware of the drawbacks and the loss of community spirit when small towns lose their grade schools, John remembers how much he had wanted to finish high school and could not at Oxford. For the sake of others who would need a high school education, he made a decision which was not too popular. John has been secretary of the Pine River Irrigation District since 1966. He still keeps the necessary papers in the original leather satchel given to the District by Merrill Turner when it was organized in 1936. John and Dorothy have been involved in a lot of hard work during the 4 7 years of their married lives, but they also know how to relax. They love to travel and especially like to go to Coos Bay, Oregon, to get on a charter fishing boat and hook the big salmon. They 124 �"l 'l ""') ""') ""') ""') ""') l l also like to visit their children, but after a few days in Los Angeles and San Diego they are ready to come back to the farm. John can look out from his house to a spot half a mile to the northeast which the old timers said was a favorite camp site on the old Spanish Trail from Santa Fe to Durango. Like most people who have lived in one place for a long time, the Olberts value their memories and have many Ii nks with the past. i April, 1978- Shelby Smith ") ) J ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) J _) J J J .J J J J J J J J J J J -..J 125 � 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 Olbert and Dorothy (Billings) Olbert Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1978-04 Subject The topic of the resource Olbert, John; Olbert, Dorothy (Billings); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of John Olbert and Dorothy (Billings) Olbert based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the April, 1978 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 Olbert, John; Olbert, Dorothy (Billings) 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 https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/c6917472587bb538849ba9754f7b5adc.pdf 845db0aae36ad90a2ff05f1bb8ea5e98 PDF Text Text FREDDIE (Rose) NEWTON (Remembering Thanksgiving, Today and Yesterday) Thanksgiving is a favorite holiday that I have always liked so much because my family would get together and enjoy all of the good food we would cook. They joined me with their home made goodies and specials which each family brought. One daughter-in-law always made the fruit salad loaded with fruit, nuts and whipped cream. One daughter made a cheese ball, another baked pies and one was talented in her relish dish. Once a son baked the turkey and dressing and one tried his hand at seasoning a pumpkin pie though he over did it with the cloves. We started out with small crowds, but soon grew in numbers. Once twenty-eight people sat down to eat Thanksgiving with me, my children, my grandchildren and a son's college friend. This year I will go to eat with my daughter's family, grandchildren and great grandchildren. I remember as a child in 1923 in Oklahoma my mother cooked a big turkey and all the things to go with ii. Everything was made from scratch. We raised almost all of our food as we lived on a farm near Ada, Oklahoma. We had many close kin and neighbors and there were quite a number of Choctaw Indians nearby. My mother always shared our garden with our Indian neighbors and that year she cooked extra food for them. My older brother delivered ii by horseback about a half mile from our home. She sent half of the turkey and other food. The main vegetable was always her turnips as no one ever cooked like my mom. Later, moving to New Mexico in 1925 we shared again with neighbors as we had moved to an isolated ranch near Malaga, New Mexico, called the "Harroun Ranch". The ranch was worked mostly with Mexican hired help and my dad was the straw boss. When the depression hit no one had any money, but mom was always ahead with her canning, big fryers and roasting chickens, eggs, butter and such. So that Thanksgiving she told my dad, "We have to get more meat for all these hungry people". The ranch hands had a diet of beans, chili, tortillas and on occasion goat or rabbit meat. One morning in 1928 my brother was trapping and caught two big coons that he skinned and kept the pelts for sale. We also had some goats, so together with barbecued goats, roasted coons and baked chicken my mother and brother cooked a Thanksgiving dinner never to be forgotten. We and our Mexican friends shared it all. 122 � 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 Freddie (Rose) Newton Biography Subject The topic of the resource Newton, Freddie (Rose); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Freddie (Rose) Newton based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. 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 Newton, Freddie (Rose) Extent The size or duration of the resource. 1 page 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 https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/ca2c8434938600a9ae2198e4d9b016ef.pdf e67a8623305a8a7c72c6ab2c95d2e3c1 PDF Text Text "l 'l 'l 'J 'J 'J J J ) } J } ) ) ) ) LOUIE AND IRENE (Young) MORRIS The story of the westward movement and the adventures of America can be told in the lives of many of its families. One such family is that of James Morris who was born in Owsley County, Kentucky in 1870 and died in California in 1955. James married Laura Kate Wagoner in Arkansas in 1893. While they lived at Berryville, their son Louie was born on November 18, 1900. From there they moved to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, for a while and then went to McCloud, Oklahoma, to grow cotton. In 1908 James loaded his family and possessions in a covered wagon and headed for House, New Mexico, which is about 45 miles south of Tucumcari. The Morrises bought a claim and opened a general store handling groceries, dry goods, hardware, kerosene, etc. staying there five years. James might have stayed at House but he kept remembering stories about the San Juan Mountains the Wagoners had told. Laura's father and one of her uncles had spent a year trapping furs in the mountains north of Durango years before. After 5 years at House, James sold out-and loaded the covered wagon. By that time Louie was 12 or 13 years old. According to his memories, travel by covered wagon was not bad. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) J _) _} J _) "Our wagon was pulled by two mules which could cover about 40 miles per day if the roads were good. We carried barrels of water, bacon, flour, beans, potatoes, coffee and a few canned goods. Dad built a bed back of the wagon and a cupboard on the rear. The door of the cupboard came down on hinges to form a table top. The stretch of road from Albuquerque to Cuba was hard because of all the sand. My brother and I followed in our buggy. The trip to Tiffany took about two weeks." The Morrises operated a ranch for the Limebargers for one summer only.Then they loaded up their wagon and headed back to Arkansas. James retraced his steps back to House and went on to Amarillo. That night when the family was parked in the wagon yard, James walked up and said, "Pack up. We're going the rest of the way on the train." James had sold the wagon and team to another man. The family was in Arkansas a short time, then back to Oklahoma City where James corresponded with Mr. Pierman and Mr. Dalton, the owners of the Allison store. In 1914 The Morrises bought the store at Allison and settled there for three years. Louie recalls, "Children in school were mischievous then as well as now. I remember the time one of the boys put a bottle of ink on the pot belly stove. Pretty soon it blew up and splattered ink all over the ceiling. But as a rule we weren't any better or any worse than children are today." _} _} J ...) ...) ...) About 1915 or 1916 the farmers around Allison decided to incorporate and start their own telephone company. Every body who wanted a phone bought stock in the company. The Shanks family were the operators. Of course it was all party line. Everyone had a different ring, two longs and a short, long short long, etc. Everybody heard the rings and everybody listened in. The more who listened in, the dimmer the sound became. If a child wanted to be mischievous or if someone was talking too long, J ...) ...) J J 119 �he could place the ear piece over the mouth piece and it would make a horrible noise which would quickly clear the line. There were many traveling salesmen in those days (the people called them drummers. a name the salesmen hated). Since there was no cafe in Allison, Laura provided a place for the salesmen to buy meals. "In 1918 we sold the Allison store and moved to Twin Falls, Idaho, for one summer and then on to Portland, Oregon", Louis remembers. The Morrises were in Portland when the great flu epidemic everyone had heard so much about struck the country. Louie was working at a cooperage at the time. "I got $.50 per day for checking the barrel heads after they were sawed to make certain the beveled edge was smooth and without flaws. I rode the street car to work. During the worst of the flu epidemic the conductor would only let a few people on at a time. We stayed in Portland through one winter. That spring we returned lo Allison to buy a farm from the Scoggins (Now the place belongs to Harry Engler)." It was a big event in 1919 when James bought his first car, a 4 door Chevrolet, an open car with a canvas roof and side curtains which were kept rolled up under the seats until needed. The Morrises enjoyed their car, but not when it was muddy. There was no gravel on the roads in those days. In 1920 Louie started dating Irene Young. Irene's parents, Archie and Nancy Young, originally were farmers at McClave, Colorado, 20 miles west of Lamar. Their irrigated farm produced alfalfa and grains. In 1913 when Irene was ten, her parents sold their farm and moved to a place just across the New Mexico line south of Allison. Mr. Young built a nice two story house (The one he built was moved to Colorado before Navajo Lake was filled. It is now the Robert Cox home near Tiffany.) The Youngs stayed in New Mexico two years then traded their farm for one nearer Allison. In 1920, Irene quit school when her mother died in order to take care of her little sister, Olivia. Tragedy struck the family again in 1922. Olivia contracted diphtheria and died. Louie and Irene were married Oct. 29, 1922. For a while they lived in the house where Ella Flack now lives, then moved to 450 Browning in Ignacio where they still live. That same year Louie, his brother Anthony and their Dad each bought 1/3 interests in the Economy Store which at that lime was located where the present Sheltered Workshop is. "Dad just bought into the store to help us get started. After a year or so Anthony and I bought Dad's interest. About a year after buying the store the Morrises began selling a new product, Atwater-Kent and Philco radios. Louie remembers when his Dad first read about radios. James said, "It says here they are bringing out a machine that will pick up sound out of the air without wires. You can't believe that can you?" The first radios in Ignacio operated with batteries. There was no electricity here. People put up 100 ft. antennas. Since the air waves were not jammed with hundreds of stations, people could 120 �'1 '1 "-,-, l l ' ' ) ) } ) } ' ) ) ) ) ) ) ) pick up stations from all over the country. "We used to get KFI Los Angeles, KOA Denver and other stations as far·away as Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania." In 1927 Bill Bryan installed an electric plant on the river straight east of the Malt Shop. Louie and a number of other residents had their houses wired for electricity and hooked into the system. The power plant operated only 3 hours per day from 5:00 to 8:00 P.M. Though the hours were limited, the electric lights were quite an advance over the coal oil lamps. When he moved to town, Louie got involved in local sports. First he joined the Ute Baseball Team, then the town team. "In those days people took the town teams seriously. We played Aztec, Silverton and Pagosa. We also had Saturday Night Dances, parties, and then the movies. The Andersons and the McJunkins started the Ute Theater south of the Bank. Harry McJunkin used to play the piano at the silent movies. In 1928 the Talkies came to Ignacio. The first one starred Al Jolson." When Louie and Irene bought the first closed car in Ignacio, it created quite a stir. A lot of people said, "I wouldn't ride in that showcase. Why if you had a wreck that glass would cut you to pieces." "This country has come a long way since the First World War. We used to carry water from the town pump, heat it in a copper boiler, and light our houses with kerosene lamps. I liked the old days,." says Irene, "at least, they were less confusing than life is today. When I hear young people complaining because their electric washer isn't working right, I feel like telling them they wouldn't have that problem if they washed on a board." Shelby Smith ) ) ) ) _) _) _) _) J ...) ...) _) J J J ...) J J J ,..) ,..) 121 � 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 Louie Morris and Irene (Young) Morris Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1976-10 Subject The topic of the resource Morris, Louie; Morris, Irene (Young); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Louie Morris and Irene (Young) Morris based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the October, 1976 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 Morris, Louie; Morris, Irene (Young) 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