7 10 216 https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/d049294c69215f9970ac6115a19c254d.pdf 25f6f3552c5f11d93f65680fc04be86f PDF Text Text LOUISA (Shaffer) HARTIG Louisa's father was a Shaffer. Her mother was a Kinsloe whose line can be traced back to 1777. Lucy Kinsloe was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1856. Her father, John Bannister Gibson Kinsloe was a newspaper publisher in Knoxville who later moved to Lockhaven, Pennsylvania, where he published the Lockhaven Review and the Clinton Republic. Al Carlisle College in Pennsylvania Lucy met Duncan Shaffer. When they were married, Lucy and Duncan moved to Frostburg, Maryland, where the Shaffer's had a well established business. Frostburg is a small town (smaller than Durango) located in the narrow segment of western Maryland between Pennsylvania and West Virginia. This is Allegheny Mountain Country rich in the history of the Revolution and of the Civil War. "Everyplace you go is either up or down," Louisa says. Since the mountains there are rich in bituminous coal, mining was the chief industry when Louisa's parents settled in Frostburg. The quality of the coal was such that it was prized by the shipping lines for their coal burning vessels. "The whole area is underlain with a network of mine tunnels," Louisa explains. "However, the town itself was clean and neat. All the mining works were located out away from the town. My father and his brothers jointly owned the H.B. Shaffer Co. They sold dry goods, groceries, harness, millinery and household supplies. The business also had an area for grain storage, a mill and a carriage house. I remember the time years later when the old Opera House burned, It was just across the street from our business and was such a hot fire. My dad and uncles poured water on the roof of our place until the danger had passed." "My parents owned one of the historic old houses in town. It had a large front porch with pillars and seven bedrooms, but no modern conveniences - no bath, electricity, or gas. However, we had one convenience few people can afford anymore - hired help. Enzie Garletz maintained the house. She cleaned, did washing and ironing and most of the cooking. Jim Wilhelm was the handyman. He maintained the yard, brought in fuel and supplies, did repairs and took care of the horses and the buggies. Aunty Powell was the midwife who helped bring me into the world. On occasions she took care of us when my parents were away. When my brothers Henry and Francis and I were still small children, we had a goat which could pull a little red cart with a red harness. Once in a while Jim would hitch up the goat and away we would go down the alleys. I don't believe we were ever allowed on the streets with this animal." "My parents were very strict and quite old fashioned. I was never allowed to go to carnivals or Saturday night dances. I was never allowed to work in the store. Young "ladies" didn't do things like that. Being a "lady" in that lime and in that part of the country involved a whole list of "does" and "don'ts" which might seem ridiculous to most people today. Of course, not knowing any different, I accepted all the restrictions as normal and had a very happy childhood. Dad eventually sold the old house. We moved for two reasons. One was to get off Main Street. The other was to acquire plumbing, electricity and gas. It was great to have these conveniences." 74 �'J 'J 'J 'J 'J J J J l ) ) ) ' ' ) ") ') ) ) "Every year we hitched up the horses for our annual picnic at Cook's Mill, a creek and woodsy area about 10 miles north of Frostburg across the Pennsylvania line. Cook's Mill was a beautiful stream. We ate, romped in the water, ran in the woods and played games. Even though it was only 10 miles, it was an all day trip. I always felt sorry for the horses in that country - up and down hill everywhere we went." "The 4th of July was a big deal, too. Dad would buy each of us 'a poke of fireworks' and turn us loose." "When the First World War started, I was about 12 years old. Once a week the ladies and girls in Frostburg got together to knit caps and coats for the Belgian Babies." "The crash in 1929 hit our family hard as it did everyone. We got fifteen cents on the dollar for whatever was in the bank. During the years following, Dad's brothers died one by one. Finally he sold out the business. The building was bought by the Knights of Columbus and used for their meetings until it burned down a few years ago." "In High School I started dating. My boyfriends and I went to the Nickelodeon shows at the Palace and the Lyric Theaters. Sometimes we went to the Vaudeville shows at the old Opera House. When the circus came, we had to go to Cumberland to see it. This was a trip of 11 miles and down hill all the way." ) ) ) ) ) ) ) _) .J __J __J ...) ...) _) ...) ..J ....) ...) J J J J ....) ....) Louisa and Martin Hartig were married in Baltimore in 1925. For years Martin was a foreman at the Frostburg Cellunise Corporation, which manufactured artificial silk. He changed jobs during the Second World War to the Blue Ribbon Bread Co. During the war the windows of the plant were all painted black and all the homes in town had blackout drapes. Whenever the air raid alarms went off at night everything was blacked out in town. Any household showing a light was fined. The ladies in town got involved in hospital work for the war effort. ''We made stretcher pads for the battlefront out of layers of lace curtains contributed by the families in the county - and we made maroon slippers and robes for the Red Cross." "Before and after the war Martin and I did a lot of traveling. We went to Quebec, Canada, once and to Williamsburg and other points south. Martin was a big football fan . Since our town was halfway between Washington and Pittsburgh, we took our pick on the weekends of which place to go." The Hartigs have one daughter, Lucy. In 1953 Lucy and her husband became parents of twin girls, Marta and Marsha. Their grandfather, Martin, was especially proud because the girls were born on his birthday, November 1oth. When the twins were a little over two years old, their parents moved to Alamogordo, New Mexico. After a few months went by, Martin said, "What do you think about moving to New Mexico?" Louisa replied, "If that's what you want to do, let's go." "We lived in Alamogordo 10 years and liked it. At first we especially enjoyed the warm climate year round, but gradually we began to miss the changing of the seasons. When the kids moved up to Colorado, we came too, and have liked it very much. The climate and snow and changing seasons are much more like our old home in Maryland. We did 75 �a lot of traveling in the west once we lived here - to Carlsbad and Mexico and Grand Canyon and Yellowstone - all good times." Martin died suddenly on June 4, 1971. A few months later Louisa sold their home in the country and moved into Ignacio. She is an active participant in all the senior citizen's activities in this area. Every Tuesday afternoon for the past 5 years she has taught knitting and crocheting at the senior center. There are things Louisa likes about the East and things she likes about the West and there certainly are differences, she says. "For one thing, here it's not who you are, it's what you've done that counts." March, 1977 - Shelby Smith 76 � 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 Louisa (Shaffer) Hartig Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1977-03 Subject The topic of the resource Hartig, Louisa (Schaffer); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Louisa (Schaffer) Hartig based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the March, 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 Hartig, Louisa (Schaffer) 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/37a16810cb700f497eff333570cb5c76.pdf 75a8b48393539201a928b6633c84192d PDF Text Text ......, ......, 'l } 'l } } } 'l ) ' ' ' ) } GEORGE RICHMOND & AMY (Cope) HAMS Twelve year old George Hams and his friend Lee Canfield stood beside the road staring intently into the distance. Even though the machine they were watching was still far down the road, the boys could hear its rhythmic pop-pop-popping as it approached. A lone figure in the auto sat very straight, holding stiffly to the steering bar. The boys were excited because they were encountering their first automobile. They would have been more excited had they known they were about to see their first auto wreck. The driver, approaching at a fast clip, was unaware of a stretch of deep sand in the road. The hard front wheels sank into the sand and the steering bar jerked from the driver's hands. As the boys stared in fascination, the auto promptly capsized, Hastings, a town of about 4,000 in southern Michigan, was a good place to live in 1898. Located mid-way between the cities of Chicago and Detroit, it was an especially good place for a curious teen-age boy to observe the mechanization and scientific revolution occurring in America, ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) __) ) .J _j __) ..J ..J ..J ..J J ..J J J J J J J The town was surrounded by rolling , forested hills with many clear streams running through the country-side. A person could hardly trave l a mile in any direction without finding a pond or lake. George was born there on October 22, 1896, the son of Martha and William Hams. William was a carpenter, then started a grocery and bakery and did well with these businesses. "We always had plenty to eat," George remembers, "because many of the farmers who traded with the store didn't have any cash and would pay for their supplies with meat or fruit or other garden produce. Our meat house was always full of hams and turkeys. The Hams bought a summer cabin on Gunn Lake near Hastings. George, his brother William, and their mother spent the summers at the lake. It was a grand life for a boy. The long summer days were occupied with fishing, swimming, boating and playing with friends. On weekends Mr. Hams would travel out to the lake in an open buggy with an umbrella top. As fall approached, the family moved back to town for school enrollment. William bought wood and set the boys to splitting it, "We mainly used maple, oak and beech for firewood. Even after we installed a coal furnace, mother used wood in the cook stove." Every fall the Hams gathered walnuts, butternuts and hazelnuts. George liked some fun with his nut gathering. Mer a freeze he liked to climb carefully into the branches of a nut tree overhanging a path or lane and wait for someone to come along. At the strategic moment he would Jump vigorously up and down on the branches and bomb the daylights out of his victims . As it is today, winter was a marvelous time for kids, "We would sharpen our skates like razors and race up and down the river or around the ponds near town. If we wanted to ski, we usually tied barrel staves to our feet; or if we wanted something better, we took elm wood to the engineer at the furniture factory. He steamed and shaped the wood. Then we tacked old shoes to the boards and had a pretty fair set of skies." 71 �Each fall Mr. Hams traded supplies to one of the farmers for ten gallons of wine which he kept in a barrel in the cellar. What boy could resist sampling it? George surely didn't. One day he and Lee Canfield sneaked into the cellar and sampled and sampled and sampled. "We got sick," George remembers. George has good memories of school days. He was an honor student most of the time. He admits to getting into mischief (some of which he won't tell about), but does admit to playing "Penny on a Board" with greenhorns who moved into Hastings. To play "Penny on a Board" George would bring out a pile of sand on a shingle, push a penny into the pile and set it on the ground. Several youngsters, including the greenhorn, lined up a ways from the pile and on the count of three raced lo see who could get the penny. Actually the innocent-looking sand pile was more than sand. It was a pile of very fresh cow dung or other manure covered with sand. As you can guess, the greenhorn was allowed to win and wound up with more than he could handle. In 1905 George's father sold out in Michigan and moved to Lake Arthur, New Mexico, south of Roswell where he bought a hardware and lumber business. Since George had only one year of high school left to finish, he was allowed to remain in Hastings. After high school George was apprenticed to a pharmacist in Grand Rapids. He rented a small apartment nearby and began his training. George dated a pretty little girl named Amy Belle Cope who came into the drugstore occasionally. Amy worked at the Fox Typewriter Co. in Grand Rapids. On dates George and Amy attended silent movies, burlesque shows and the circus (Amy especially liked the side shows). Vaudeville shows were $.35 in the evening and $.15 in the afternoon. They made frequent visits to ice cream parlors, rarely to restaurants. George and Amy were married in 1910. In 1911 Viola was born. She was their only child. The Hams made occasional trips to visit his parents in New Mexico. Cars had become quite common, but good roads were rare. They have vivid memories of trips across the plains. While crossing Oklahoma on one trip the Hams came to a region which had been soaked with heavy rain. When they got bogged at the bottom of a hill, Amy agreed to get out and push. Once the car got going, George couldn't stop. Not only was Amy splattered with mud from head to foot, she also had to walk all the way up the hill through deep mud to reach the car. Another time the Hams had completely bogged down in a mud hole and were feeling hopeless until four young men on motorcycles appeared. The cyclists got off their machines, walked over to the car (one to each fender) picked the car up with the Hams still inside, set it on firm ground, and left. In 1920 when Viola was about 9, Amy contracted tuberculosis. The doctors recommended that she go to a dry climate like New Mexico for treatment. She did so and year later she was pronounced cured. If 10 year old Viola hadn't asked for an ice cream cone as they passed through Hagerman, N.M., on their way back home lo Grand Rapids, the Hams family might still be in Michigan. George stopped, went into the drug store for the ice cream and discovered the store was for sale. He bought it on the spot. 72 �Life in Hagerman on the legendary Pecos River was quite different from life in Grand Rapids. The Hams bought a place near the Russell Ranch and became good friends of the Russell family, who proved to be invaluable help when most any problem arose. George bought a few cows. When it came time for one of the calves to be weaned from its mother, Amy had trouble. Mrs. Russell, who weighted about 200 pounds, came over to help. She stepped a stride the shoulders of the calf, grasped its head and ears and forced its head into the bucket. "If it gets balky again, just do that," Mrs. Russell advised. The next day Amy decided to try to force feed the calf. It had not occurred to her that a difference in weight of 110 pounds would matter. Amy, who weighed only 90 pounds got astride the calf and got the ride of her life. Fortunately, Amy had as good a sense of humor about this as about the mud. George operated the drug store in Hagerman from 1921-1946. Though he preferred not to be, he was considered a counter doctor by many of the residents of the area. George and Amy sewed up more people than they like to remember. "One man had such a large knife wound, we could see his heart beating." As in all parts of the country during the great depression, many transients came through Hagerman. "We never refused anyone a prescription, money or no money. One family passing through asked for medicine for a sick baby. Years later we received a letter from them with money for the prescription." ) ) ) Viola moved to Ignacio in the 1940's. When the Hams came to visit, the green trees and flowing streams brought back memories of Michigan. They had always missed the green countryside while living on the dry plains. In 1946 George and Amy bought 40 acres north of Ignacio, remodeled the house and spent many happy years here. Amy died in 1970. George is now 88 years old. He's had a good life with much happiness and filled with good memories. We are happy you moved here Mr. Hams and wish you many more happy years. J December, 1974 - Shelby Smith ) _) J _J ..) ..) ..) J J -.J J J J J J J J 73 � 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 George Richmond Hams and Amy (Cope) Hams Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1974-12 Subject The topic of the resource Hams, George Richmond; Hams, Amy (Cope); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of George Richmond Hams and Amy (Cope) Hams based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the December, 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 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/7e9bcfacfb63b775069240f7f62f6582.pdf 991c441433b9ca042c2e9c9c869e1045 PDF Text Text GENEVIEVE PENA GUNN Genevieve Pena was born January 23, 1913, at Pagosa Junction, Colorado, one of the children of Juan Pena and Mary Baker Pena. Mary was a Ute and was considered a highly educated person in her day since she had finished the 12th grade at Haskell Institute in Kansas. "My grandparents," Genevieve says, "knew they had a gem of a person in my mother. They loved and valued her highly. My father, who was a member of the San Juan Pueblo near Espanola, N.M., came into this country herding sheep. When Dad wanted to marry Mother, her parents and grandparents discussed it a long lime, finally deciding Juan was industrious and good for the family. Dad offered to pay for Mother, but apparently he had nothing which they considered valuable enough as a dowry. After much thought the older Bakers set this condition. If Dad would work for the family for 2 years without pay, he could marry Mother. He agreed to this and was never sorry. "When I was born," Genevieve says, "the area around Pagosa Junction was not almost empty as it is today. The river valley and all the canyons leading up onto the mesas were full of people. You should have seen the people pour out of the canyons when there was a wedding or a celebration. There were about 20 houses in town, a train station, a church, a hotel with a restaurant, a school and two stores, one run by the Gomez family and the other by Walter Ziebriski. Both stores had good selections of general merchandise. Ziebriski made quite a stir when he put a hand operated gasoline pump out in front of his store. Since Ziebriski spoke English with a heavy accent, I could never understand one word he said, but Dad could. I would listen to their conversations and as soon as we left ask father, 'What did he say?'." "The train was the lifeline of our town. We were a switching point on the main AlamosaDurango line for the branch to Pagosa Springs. That's why we needed a hotel. The schedules didn't always match, so the people coming from or going to Pagosa were often caught between trains and needed a place to spend the night. This gave use a glimpse of the outside world, for some of the traveling people were dressed real fancy. We admired them as they walked up and down the street in the evenings. The little girls watching would say, 'This is our New York.' We were proud of the hotel. It had everything but an indoor toilet." "When it was time for us to go to school, Dad got a place right in town. Dad kept farming and was a good farmer. I can still picture him planning his work and keeping his accounts in a small tablet. He would look through it and say, 'I owe so-and-so two days of work;' or 'So-and-so owes me a lamb this spring.'" "I was so glad when I finished 6th grade. Thal was all the school I wanted, but I was sent to the boarding school at Santa Fe to continue my education. What a scary trip that was. I had ridden trains before, but never away from my parents and never so far away from home. A bunch of us were loaded on the train to Antonito where we spent the first night. I'm sure we all stuck out like sore thumbs, so curious and always saying, 'Look at this!' or 'Look at that!' The next day we got onto another train which took us south to Santa Fe." 6B �'J 'J 1 1 ' ' ' ') "Every summer I came home. The warm season was a busy time because we dried and canned and stored up all the food we needed for the winter, No one was lazy. No one seemed to mind hard work. They would get going and get it done. Every year we went camping to pick fruit and berries - so many kinds, l don't remember them all. Of course, there were chokecherries and the buffalo-berries. The river bottom near Sky Ute Downs used to be thick with buffalo-berries. We found that some of the bushes produced sweet, juicy berries while others nearby were sour. The location of those bushes was a family secret." '' ' ' "All of us liked dances. They were held outside in good weather. If it was cold or wet, Felix Gomez would let us use his barn. All of us got together to decorate it till it didn't even look like a barn. We saved all our bright paper for paper chains and other decorations, Young and old came with their lanterns. The old people were treated very respectfully, even if they didn't dance, for they were the good fiddle players. We went from one to another, asking them if they would play for us. When they got tired and went home, the dance was over." 1 ) } ) ) ") ) ) "On Saint Days there were horse races and foot races. I once won a length of cloth in a race. It was a welcome prize. People looked forward to the celebrations and the contests. As the time approached we engaged in much speculation. Rumors would fly around,' So-and-so has a real fast horse this year,' or 'so-and-so thinks he can beat last year's winner."' ) ) ) ) ) ) ) _) _) _j J _j _j ...) ..J _j ...) ..J ,J "My mother, Mary Pena, was recruited every year to help distribute per capita payments to the tribe. Dad would load the wagon and head for Arboles where we'd jump in the river and cool off and have lunch before going on. We always camped near the agency close to the present site of the Bear Dance Grounds for several days. Mother was chosen because she knew the names of all the tribal members. She rode a car with two armed guards from the BIA who kept between them a huge sack of silver money. None of the Indians wanted checks or paper money. They didn't trust it. Each tribal member was given a cup of silver money, large cups for adults, small ones for children. The money wasn't counted exact. It was merely dipped into the sack and poured into the men's hats. The beginnings of women's lib on the reservation may have started when one of the wives insisted that her cup of money be poured into her shawl instead of into her husband's hat." "One January while l was still in high school at Santa Fe, 1 received the message that my mother was dead. She had ridden the train to Ignacio, and the car she rode in was so overheated that she was sweaty hot when she got off. The walk in the cold winter wind from the depot up to the agency gave her fatal pneumonia." "When I finished high school, there was nothing to keep me in Pagosa Junction, so I came to Ignacio to stay with my aunt and uncle, Lucille and Frank Baker. I stayed with them until I married Graves Gunn. Graves and I had seven children: Harold, Aletha, Emery, Corrine, Sylvia, Janice, and Sandra. Harold and Emery are both dead now." "My father, Juan Pena, is still alive and very active at 94. Long life seems to be a tradition of his family. Juan's mother, Angelita Tapia, lived to be 108." ...) ,J J .J 69 �"When I look back to my childhood, I see that we were made happy with such simple things. Going to Ignacio on the train was a once a year treat. In August Dad would say, 'I think it's lime to go buy shoes and other things girls and boys need.' Thelma and I would get so excited just thinking about the trip." "Today the river has eaten away much of the land which used to belong to the town. Ziebriski's store had fallen down and most of the homesteads are deserted, but when I think of Pagosa Junction, I see it as it was 50 years ago. The school bell rings; the train moves into town; the hotel is busy. The canyon people are riding into town for Saturday shopping. (That's how we called them-the First Canyon people, or the Second Canyon people to indicate which canyon the lived in up or down the river.) I remember the town and the canyons full of life, homes and people. To see ii now, you'd think there had never been anyone there." Shelby Smith March, 1977 70 � 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 Genevieve Pena Gunn Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1978-03 Description An account of the resource Biography of Genevieve Pena Gunn based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the March, 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 Gunn, Genevieve Pena 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/31661c3342eff8a926ca8c17e00a1bab.pdf 6964129a9280581ff9c52734453aefbd PDF Text Text ERVIN AND ADDIE (Rutherford) GILBERT "The first time I ran away from home, I was just 13 years old, but I knew how to work. There was plenty of work in the farm country around Leon, Oklahoma, in the Red River Valley on the Texas line in the 1920's, but the wages were poor. One farmer paid me $12.50 per month working 7 days a week with a half day off on Sunday. People in those days would just about make a slave out of you for nothing." "I was the sixth child of W.J. and Ada Gilbert. When I was 5 months old, my mother died. During the next few months the neighbors helped take care of me until my Dad married Amanda Baxter. She was a brave lady to marry a man with six kids ranging from 1 to 11 years old. However, my Dad had a lot to offer. He owned his own freight line, using teams and wagons to haul goods to and from the rail heads at St. Joe and Marietta. Sometimes he went all the way to Wichita Falls. That took a week round trip. Amanda was good to us, but she was Pennsylvania Dutch and pretty stern." ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) .J .) _) __) ,.J ..) ._) ...J ,.J ...J ..) ._) J J J .J .J "I quit school after 6th grade and left home several times doing all kinds of jobs. I cut bois d'arc (bodark) posts for a while. During harvest season I worked as 'chaffer' on thrashing crews. That was hot, itchy work, but it paid $3.50 -$4.00 per day. I earned about the same amount as a teaming contractor digging slush pits and salt water ponds in the east Texas oil fields." "When the depression hit, wheat went from $1 .25 a bushel to $.25 per bushel to nothing. During the worst times people couldn't sell anything. One year the farmers around Me Kinney, Texas, raised a bumper crop of onions. The market went down and down until on one could buy or sell any more onions. The farmers just dumped them along the road. For ten miles the bar ditches were full of onions. They rotted and smelled for years." "In 1935, I got a notice to join the Civilian Conservation Crops, but almost missed my chance. When the notice came, I was away job hunting and barely made it back in time to get to Marietta. We were trucked to Ardmore where we boarded a train for Colorado. There must have been over 200 of us in the group. All of us were just rough Okie farm boys. Our first major stop was Joplin, Missouri. As the train sat parked in the station, we began to notice a real self-important looking man marching up and down the platform alongslde the train. Back and forth he went. We didn't know he was an armed railroad 'bull'. Some of the boys on the train got bored and decided to play a trick. They got a bucket full of cold water and a bucket full of hot water and the next time he marched by they let him have it with the cold one and then with the hot one. By the time he recovered himself, spluttering and blowing, he was mad and had his gun drawn. It's a good thing no head was showing in a window, because he was a pompous man and almost mad enough to shoot. Our next stop was Kansas City, but the detective decided our behavior wasn't fit for a big city and ordered the train to change to a route across Southern Kansas and that's where we went." "The trip was comfortable enough. Each of us had our own bunks and best of all they gave every one of us $11.00 for snacks and drinks and pocket expenses along the way. I still remember one stop at a small town in Southern Kansas. Captain Percival told us we had 15 minutes to shop and look around and when the whistle blew to get back 65 �immediately. We were having a great time in the bakeries and candy shops. Some of us were holding sacks of goodies we hadn't even paid for when unknown to us a different engine pulled into the yard and made a few toots. The 15 minutes wasn't nearly up, but everyone panicked. There was a stampede and the whole town got roused up wondering what was going on. At Alamosa we switched lo the narrow gauge. When we arrived at the Durango Depot, trucks were wailing to take us lo our assigned camp site on the La Plata River near Breen. There was nothing there but a sage brush field when we arrived. However, within a few weeks, we had a neat camp laid out and a 5 acre garden planted in the river bottom. Our group was assigned lo the Division of Grazing and built roads, trails, fences and ponds. Rookies earned $30.00 per month, assistant leaders earned $35.00 per month and leaders earned $40.00. All but $5.00 was sent home to your family. We got a $5.00 ticket lo spend at the PX. My job was to drive a '34 Ford VB flatbed truck back and forth between the camp and Salt Lake City, Utah, hauling supplies to the various camps along the way." "In October, 1935 I went to a dance at Breen and met Addie Rutherford. We dated for several months and were married at Aztec in 1936." Addie Rutherford was born at Lewis, Colorado, which was named for her grandfather Lewis, who started the first post office there. When Addie was born, her father Paul Rutherford was a honey farmer. The family later moved to Telluride for 8 years, then to Silverton for 8 years where Paul was a miner. Later they moved to Durango where Addie finished high school and got a job in the telephone office. Ervin could have signed up for another hitch in the CCC, but even though jobs were still hard to find, he decided he would rather make his own way. To earn a living, the Gilberts had to make a lot of moves the first few years of their marriage. They lived at various places in southwest Colorado. Ervin did some mining, some truck driving and some farming, and whatever was available because times were still hard. "In 1947 we decided things might be a little better in Oklahoma, so we moved back to Leon for 2 years where we very nearly went broke. We saved our money until we could come back to Colorado. In 1949 we settled in Bayfield where I worked for the forest service for 15 years." In 1957 Ervin got a contract to quarry the rock for the new buildings at Ft. Lewis College. Over the next several years Ervin provided 80-85% of the rock used in the new construction at the college. He and Dan Black, one of the administrators at Fl. Lewis, found the 'bacon rind' sandstone up on the Ewing place south of Durango, which was used in most of the college buildings. No mechanical gimmicks were used in the quarrying. It was all done using spalling hammers and loaded by hand. Ervin was paid by the ton. Some of the buildings required 700 tons of rock. The Gilberts had 10 children. Clark, the oldest, lives at Pleasant Hill, Missouri, near Kansas City; Millard lives in Bakersfield, California; Gene died when he was 33; Judy Beuten lives in Farmington; Sally Powell lives at Spring Creek; Salina Church is living at Star, Idaho; Paul is at Wellington, Colorado; Patsy died at the age of 3; and Albert and Terry are both living in Denver. 66 �'l 'l ~ i i i ' ' In the fall of 1978 the Gilberts moved to an apartment at the Senior Center north of Ignacio where they still live. Addie is an excellent seamstress and does sewing of all kinds. Ervin grows his garden, goes fishing whenever he takes a notion (like most of the Irish folk) and has a lot of fun. Best wishes to both of them. ~ Shelby Smith - May 1981 ) ) ) ) 1 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) J ) .J ...) _) _) _) ...) _) J ...) ...) ...) ...) ...) ...) ...) 67 � 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 Ervin Gilbert and Addie (Rutherford) Gilbert Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1981-05 Subject The topic of the resource Gilbert, Ervin; Gilbert, Addie (Rutherford); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Ervin Gilbert and Addie (Rutherford) Gilbert based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith in May, 1981. Included in the book "Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley" by Shelby Smith. Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Ervin; Gilbert, Addie (Rutherford) 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/31446c3981e1eb9e62f0fbafe892ae85.pdf a7cd980e2a3b10bde18016253f6e866e PDF Text Text RICHARD AND HENRIETTA (Benson) GARDNER Richard Harold Gardner was born near Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on April 1, 1896, the youngest Child of George and Hanna Gardner. George had been reared in Dearborn, Michigan, where he went to school with Henry Ford, (The old Gardner home is now a part of Henry Ford's Pioneer Village at Dearborn). George went west at the age of 19, settled at Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and took advantage of the Homestead Law to acquire farmland. When George died at the age of 48, he was farming 1500 acres of rich Missouri Valley farmland with horses. After his death Hanna moved the children to town and rented the land to others. "Heinie and I attended the same high school," Dick recalls, "but since I was older and a member of a different class in school, I never knew her till several years later. I didn't have much time to get into mischief. When I wasn't going to school, I was working. Part of the time I did chores for farmers. For a while I helped the school custodian until I got a job at the telephone company. It amounted to 40 hours per week counting all the evening hours and an all-night shift Saturday night through Sunday morning. I worked on the test board tracing down malfunctions in the circuits. Originally, I was paid $30.00 per month which later was raised to $45.00. In summers I really made big money. I traveled with a telephone construction gang as time clerk and bookkeeper. We installed telephone systems in small towns in South Dakota and Minnesota. For that I was paid $75.oo per month plus my keep. Those were in the days before cables and micro-wave transmission. Since every conversation required two separate lines, the telephone poles of those days were laden with several cross arms and dozens of wires. Long distance calls could only be heard a certain distance. The farthest city we could speak with directly was Chicago. Beyond that an operator in Chicago would have to relay the message on to another operator until it reached the party being called. I learned to use the telegraph. Telegraph messages were relayed on the phone lines without interfering with conversations. Because of my work I always had money for high school and for college." Dick was about to finish his sophomore year at South Dakota State when he enlisted in the Army for World War 1. He sailed to France in a convoy of 13 ships. The crossing required 13 days, landing in France on Friday the 13th. Many of the men were spooked by these numbers, but any bad luck incurred did not affect Dick. He was a member of a special railroad unit which built narrow gauge tracks and operated supply trains right up to the trenches. "Once our outfit connected its lines to some German tracks, crossed into German Territory and pulled a German train back into Allied territory." Dick returned to America in July of 1919 and enrolled in college again. The first day back his friends invited him to go with them to a dance. Though he didn't have a date, Dick decided to go. As soon as he arrived, one of his friends pointed out Heinie and said, "there is a girl from Sioux Falls. You should get acquainted." That's exactly what Dick did, Henrietta Amelia is the youngest child of Henry and Amelia Benson, both of whom were born in Sweden, My parents taught me English first, then Swedish. Father was a laborer. I lived in the same house I was born in until I married. 62 �'l '1 '1 '1 '1 't ) ' ' ) ) l ' ' ) 1 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) } ) ) __) _) _) _) ...) J ..J J ..J J J J J J J I~ Heinie had three brothers and one sister. After graduating from high school, she enrolled at South Dakota state to study home economics and commerce. She had been a secretary before college and afterwards did secretarial and book-keeping work all her life. Even though Dick and Heinie were serious students, they found some time for fun, A new music professor from Hew York who knew little about the ways of the west roomed in the same boarding house as Dick. On a snowy, windy night Dick and some of his friends took the prof on a snipe hunt and left him literally holding the bag. About 2:00 A.M. when the boys were about to get worried, the professor came wearily up the stairs. After dating for four years Dick and Heinie were married in 1923. Dick says, "Some people may think that is a long time to date someone, but in those days a boy was supposed to have a job and something to offer before he got married. I had a degree in agriculture and one in school administration. My first job was with the first rural consolidated school system in the state at Madison. We had the first school buses and worked all the bugs out of running a consolidated arrangement. After two years of teaching agriculture, I was selected to be the superintendent. I stayed with that two years and then took the job of county agent." When World War II started Dick felt a responsibility to help with the war effort. He quit the county agent job and started teaching a Radio School for the Army Air Corps. At first he was stationed in Sioux Falls, then in St. Louis. In 1943 the Gardners returned to Madison where Dick resumed his job with the school until 1956. It was not a matter of being unhappy with life in Madison which started the Gardners looking for another place to live. They loved their life and friends there, "We had never lived outside South Dakota," Heinie says, "and we decided if we were ever going to see any other part of the country, we should go then. Dick resigned his job and we started looking. Actually, we had Colorado in mind from the start. When we got to Denver, Dick visited the Colorado Department of Education and learned there were openings for administrators all over the state. We made a list of possible places and began looking. If we didn't like the looks of a place, we wouldn't stop. We almost didn't come to Ignacio because an outdated map showed an unpaved road over here. We immediately liked the looks of the country around here, but did not make a final decision until later. After visiting several schools in Texas, Dick called back and accepted the job in Ignacio. He was principal at the high school for 3 years and, also, of the grade school 3 years until he retired in 1962. That same year we went to the World's Fair in Seattle and then on to Hawaii to visit the grave of our son who died in the war," The Gardner's son, Richard Robert, whom they called Bobby, was born in 1924. Bobby was tall, 6'2", ambitious and had high ideals. He entered the Marines in 1942 and was killed in action on March 13, 1945, on lwo Jima. He was awarded the Silver Star, Purple Heart with 2 gold stars, Presidential Unit, Citation ribbon with star, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal. After retiring, Dick served on the Ignacio Town Board, as town clerk and as a manager of the town gas system. He had been active in the Lion's Club, American Legion, VFW, the 63 �Regional Planning Commission and Alpha Zeta, a national agricultural society. Both of them have been active in the Presbyterian Church and have held various service positions in the local church. "We've had good friends everywhere we have lived," the Gardners say, "but we'd never by happy away from the mountains." Shelby Smith, October 1977 64 � 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 Richard Gardner and Henrietta (Benson) Gardner Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1977-10 Subject The topic of the resource Gardner, Richard; Gardner, Henrietta (Benson); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Richard Gardner and Henrietta (Benson) Gardner based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the October, 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 Gardner, Richard; Gardner, Henrietta (Benson) 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/87f1b0aac833288a878c0fbda430424d.pdf 8f4a4823eb19e03b7e5f618d34bd0dcc PDF Text Text ~ ~ ' ' ' ' ' , , , ) ) ) ) ' -) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) J _) __) ...) J J J J ._) ..) ._) ._) ._) TOM and ESTEFANITA (Rodriguez) GARCIA Jose Francisco Tomas Garcia came running along the ditch, then plopped onto his stomach under a pinon tree to watch the ditch water pound the waterwheel slowly and relentlessly round and round. Tiny boats made of wood shavings and sticks glided along in grand disregard for their danger, bounced down the waterwheel and disinterested in the churning pool. At nine years of age Tomas was old enough to give his grandfather some help in the flour mill, but like today there were slack times, too. Time to sail boats, time to watch clouds in the blue New Mexico sky and time to listen to the wind in the junipers. Today the hot weather sound of grasshoppers singing accompanied the measured splashing of the wheel, and underlying all was the steady, patient, low monotone of stone turning upon stone. Tomas and his mother, Nepomucena, divided their time between Grandfather Garcia's farm and flour mill and Grandfather Montoya's ranch near Espanola. Tom's father came home as often as he could, but worked on a ranch in the Animas Valley just below the Waterfall Ranch. Tomas, the first of seven children, was born October 4, 1880, at Mesilla, New Mexico. He was nine when he started to school. Everyone, including the teachers spoke Spanish. "We didn't have shows or ball games, but we played with tops, made our own bows and arrows and shot some good marble games." On his tenth birthday, Tom got a present he still remembers. While attempting to hitch a couple of horses to a wagon, he received a severe kick in the head. The blow was stunning and painful, but no permanent injury was done, except for a mark still visible on his forehead. Tom watched the horses more closely after that. Some of the most exciting days of the year during Tom's boyhood were the days of the cock races. A rooster, the target of the race, would be buried in loose earth with only its head and neck exposed. Two teams of horseman, or horsewomen, would line up at the starting point and ride off like thunder at the shot of a gun. Members of each team would lean precariously f rom their saddles attempting to grab the chicken and uproot it from the earth as they rode by in full gallop. Sometimes several passes were required with much jostling and shoving between the teams before either succeeded. Once the rooster was in hand the team possessing it attempted to ride to a designated goal and back to the starting line. The rooster, squawking and kicking, usually changed hands many times being captured and recaptured by each team in a wild, horseback free-for-all. If eyes were blackened, horses were tripped and grand fist fights broke out, that's what was expected. Spectators took a frantic interest in the outcome partly because it was an exciting sport and partly because betting on the winner assumed high stakes. Most of the time there would be a women's race and then a men's race. In the evening the losing teams were required to sponsor a dance and reception with refreshments for the winners . Tom says the last cock race he recalls took place about 1900 in New Mexico. In the summer of 1890 Tom's father, Jose, moved his family to the Animas Valley north of Durango. Tom was promptly hired to operate the horse drawn hay-baler, even though he was only 10 years old. For two years Tom went to school in Durango and learned a lot of English . ._) J ._) .J J 59 �By 1893 Tom's father had saved enough money to buy farmland near Blanco. Tom took great pride in acquiring his own pony at this time and had fun playing Spanish Explorer in the hills. In 1905 when Tom came to the Pine River Valley to visit his cousin, he did not plan to make his home here. No town existed. All that was here at the lime was the train depot, a few homes of Tribal Members, the Indian Agency and the trading post where Tom's cousin worked. While Tom was here, one of the employees at the post quit and the Hall brothers gave Tom the job of clerking and delivering. The two Hall brothers who owned the trading post lived at home with their mother. One of them was never married and the other was a widower with several children. Employed to care for the family, keep house and cook was a young lady named Estefanita Rodriquez. Estefanita was small, quick, efficient and very pretty. Since Tom was assigned to milk the cow for the family and lo eat his meals with the Halls, he met Estefanila over the milk pail and quickly acquired a taste for her cooking. "We got acquainted pretty fast," Tom admits. They were married in 1906. Tom continued to work at the post for a while; then they moved to Bayfield where he got a job with the Postal Service delivering sacks of bulk mail from the Ignacio Depot to Bayfield and then from Bayfield back to Ignacio. "There weren't any roads then, just trails. I drove a spring wagon along a trail by Buckskin Charlie's place." Tom liked his job because he got to keep on the move and meet people, but when Hans Aspaas bought the Agency Store, Tom went back to work in his old job. The Halls had bought John Taylor's land located between the present day Bank of Ignacio and the Catholic Church. Aspaas bought a large piece of land south of the bank and together they started platting the town of Ignacio. Tom and Estefanita worked hard and saved their money till in 1913 they hired Mr. Manzanares to build a house for them. Tom's house was one of the first large homes built in Ignacio. Due to its thick adobe and solid wood construction, the house is still sturdy and attractive. Of their eight children, five were boys and three were girls. Filbert died at the age of eighteen. All the others survive. From 1922 to 1940 Tom rented a farm 2 miles east of town. He raised wheat and hay and kept a few cattle. During those years Tom got involved in politics. "I liked it. I worked for the Democrats," Tom said. He took an active part in campaigns, contacted and influenced people and made many speeches for the candidates he thought were good people. The large adobe building on Goddard Avenue, presently used as the school repair shop, was built by Ignacio members of S.P.M.D.T.U. Tom recalls with a laugh that those six letters appeared in large size across the front of the building and that some local residents would sometimes tell strangers they meant "Some Poor Mexicans Die Tied Up". Actually, S.P.M.D.T.U. stands for the Sociadad Protectora Mexicana de Travajadores Unidos, a lodge devoted to protecting and improving the working conditions of Mexican-Americans. Tom as an active member occasionally traveled to Alamosa for regional meetings. For many years their building was used by various groups for meetings, parties and dances and otherwise served as the major social center in town. Estefanita's house and yard were always showplaces of flowers. She grew every kind of fruit and vegetable she could crowd into her garden. She sold eggs, produce and cream. 60 �,, ., ,, ., J J J , , ) ) J ) ) ) ) ) ) Both Garcias were hardworking all their lives. They provided well for their family and encouraged them to get as much education as possible. In spite of the obligations of a large family and a lifetime of hard work, Tom and Estefanita were aware of the needs of Their neighbors. Those who know them remark that the Garcias always remembered the poor and offered help wherever grief or sickness or trouble occurred. Estefanita suffered several periods of Illnesses during the summer and fall of 1973. She died in mid December. Today when Tom has visitors, he may get a mischievous look in his eye and inform them that the happiest hours of his life were spent in the arms of another man's wife. Before his guests are too shocked he explains that he's talking about his mother. Tom is now 93, looking for his 94th birthday in October. 'He doesn't get around too well now, but his mind is alert and his memory is good, especially regarding the distant past. When the days get warmer, Tom will spend many hours in the sun on his porch enjoying his life on that day and remembering the good and the bad, the grief and the joys, the mistakes and the successes of 93 years. If you're going that way and can stop for a few minutes, he will enjoy your visit, but more than that, you may learn a thing or two. ) March, 1974 -- Shelby Smith ) ) ) } ) _) ) ) .J ) ...) ...) .J ...) .,_) J -...J _; J -...J -...J .J .J ._) 61 � 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 Tom Garcia and Estefanita (Rodriguez) Garcia Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1974-03 Subject The topic of the resource Garcia, Tom; Garcia, Estefanita (Rodriguez); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Tom Garcia and Estefanita (Rodriguez) Garcia based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the March, 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 Garcia, Tom; Garcia, Estefanita (Rodriguez) 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/139868dccd8b745a6c3c7e50a559871c.pdf b3139b3d2cbdc3c116a9a06560ad6623 PDF Text Text r'\ ~ "I ~ "") MARY EDNA (TRUJILLO) GALLEGOS ~ Mary Edna Gallegos was born in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, February 25, 1912, the oldest child of Tobias Trujillo and Sarah (Moreno) Trujillo. Tobias was a farmer. When he died in 1916, Edna was only 4 years old and hardly remembers her dad. Her mother later married Evaristo Garcia. i i ) J -) "My step~dad," Edna says, "was a very good man. He treated me really well. My younger sisters and one brother are still living. Mary lives in Los Angeles, Dolores in Blanco, Rose in Plymouth, CA, and Ray in Albuquerque." ) ) "I went to school in Lonetree (about 10 miles north of Pagosa Junction on Cat Creek Road). That is dryland country, but in those days we had plenty of rain for hay and for crops. The wild grass was so tall it would brush your feet when you rode a horse. We used to knot necklaces from a particular variety of tough grass there. I wonder if it still grows there. The climate has changed so much." ) About 1922 Edna's family moved to Mancos for 2 years, then came back to Durango. , ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) J ) ) J .J __) J J .J ....J J __J __J "My step-dad worked at the smelter where they processed the ores from Silverton. I enjoyed living in Durango, but it didn't last very long. When my mother died, I went to live with my aunt in Ignacio. I stayed with her two years until I was married at the age of 15. Aurelio Gallegos and I got married in 1927. For 15 years we lived on the farm at Caracas by the San Juan River just below the New Mexico State Line. There was no bridge across the river. We forded it with a wagon to buy supplies at Pagosa Junction. If the river was too high we crossed with pack horses. Sometimes I stayed home for 3 months. Often the river was so high in May, June, and July from the spring melt, that we were isolated. We had a log house on a rise above the river. Aurelio raised alfalfa on the river bottom and grain on a flat place we called the "alcon." Whenever we needed fuel we took our wagon up on Caracas Mesa. We had a permit to haul all the wood we needed for our personal use. In the summer and fall we took our wagon up on the mesa top into the woods and enjoyed the views and the peaceful feeling of the back country. Sometimes we could watch the herds of beautiful wild horses which roamed the canyons and mesas at that time. Before the winter, we always had enough wood to last till the next summer. We grew nearly all of our food. Our irrigation system was from our well, simple but effective. We pulled up buckets of water with a rope and pulley and emptied them into a series of trenches which ran down the rows of the garden. This was a lot easier than hauling buckets around the garden. We roasted our blue corn and had it ground at Allison, enough for us and some to sell. We put away 200 lbs. of white peas and all kinds of chilies and vegetables. We used kerosene lamps and a wood burning cookstove. Our cellar kept our cream and eggs cool in summer and kept our produce from freezing in winter. We never had electricity and never missed it. You'd be surprised how few worries we had. No utility bills to pay. No food bills. We were sure of everything. I was never bored and never lonely. I always liked the quiet places. __J J J J ..) .J "Aurelio and I had four children. Roger now lives in Ogden, Utah, Sarah in Newark, CA, Abe in Farmington, and Lillie in Bayfield. The kids went about 3 miles to school. If we needed to travel any further than the valley, we crossed the river and waited for the train. 57 �lfwe needed to go shopping or go to the doctor, we took the train to Durango. II arrived from Alamosa ~very day at 1:30 p.m. and would get to Durango in about 2 hours. In winter it was sometimes delayed for long periods because of snow on the passes. One way to Durango cost $2.45. "In 1942 we moved to Jack Dickinson's irrigated farm across the river in Colorado, where we stayed 5 years. From 1947-49 we lived in Durango. When Aurelio's mom died in 1949, we moved back to Caracas where we stayed until 1964. Thal year we moved to Ignacio and I've been here ever since." Edna lives in one of the apartments in the Senior Citizen's Complex just north of Ignacio. She visits her children whenever she can and occasionally keeps one of her grandchildren. Edna enjoys her new apartment and the conveniences of life today, but she would trade her electric range for a wood burning cookstove in a minute. Shelby Smith - February, 1978 � 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 Edna (Trujillo) Gallegos Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1978-02 Subject The topic of the resource Gallegos, Mary Edna (Trujillo); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Mary Edna (Trujillo) Gallegos based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the February, 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 Gallegos, Mary Edna (Trujillo) 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/7316d573862721f12617f588eb0f01d3.pdf afad8ad14c4ac849f1196158879c25cf PDF Text Text JUAN GALLEGOS Juan N. Gallegos was born May 16, 1893, in Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico, the oldest son in his family. Juan's father was a sheepherder for 45 years. In the summertime he took his flocks into the high country surrounding their home. Most of their neighbors put their flocks together in the summer and either shared the herding responsibility or paid one herder such as Juan to care for the sheep. Being the oldest son, Juan soon was traveling with the sheep camp and learning how to care for the sheep. In the summer of 1908 when Juan was 15, his father had to leave the sheep for a 3 day business trip. Juan and his cousins were left in charge. It was hot weather and the creek was cool but shallow. The boys made a temporary dam with rocks to make a nice pool for skinny-dipping. Then the thought of tobacco came to their minds. Forbidden things always seem to have a great appeal to boys. A great idea came to them when they remembered the Juan's mother did not know Mr. Gallegos was away from the camp. Word was sent to Mrs. Gallegos that her husband wanted a supply of his Bull Durham tobacco. She promptly sent it and the boys began their experiment. Though they had varying degrees of success rolling their own cigarettes and went through a lot of coughing and sputteling while trying to smoke, the boys thought it was grand getting to do such a "manly" thing. However, the boys didn1 feel so "manly" when Mr. Gallegos returned and discovered their trick. Juan learned that 15 year old boys are not too old for a good whipping. A few years after that Juan's father began hearing of homesteading opportunities across the line in Colorado. In 1914 he took a claim of 160 acres north of Dulce in the Montezuma Valley. Mr. Gallegos built a log house and made the necessary improvements to establish a permanent claim. Juan and a couple of his brothers also claimed nearby homesteads, but hard times required them to abandon the claims to find work in Utah. In 1916 when Juan was about 23, he married Matilda Gallegos. They raised 6 boys and 4 gi~s. Several years later when Juan was 39, he and Matilda decided to move to Ignacio. They came by horse-drawn sled, to Pagosa Junction. II was too muddy the rest of the way for a sled, so Juan came on to Ignacio, rented a buggy and returned for his family. Life was pretty hard in 1932. Juan worked for the W.P.A. (Works Progress Administration) and he appreciated the work, but that didn't prevent him and many other Spanish speakers from calling the W.P.A. "El diablo apie" or "the devil on fool". Later Juan got a job with the BJ.A. as a camp mover under Mr. Peterson. During W.W. II Juan's second son, Juan Joe Gallegos, was captured by enemy forces in Europe, Juan believes his son was imprisoned and must have died while there. Unfortunately, there was no definite word about his fate at that lime and nothing more certain has ever been learned. Juan and his family lived in Dragerton, Utah, during 1943-45 while he worked in the Colombia Coal mine. In 1948 Matilda died. Juan returned to Ignacio in 1951 and worked as a camp mover several more years. In 1966 Juan was married to Apolonia Herrera and they still make their home here. Partial, September, 1974 56 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Shelby Smith Interviews Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource https://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-NC/1.0/?language=en Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1973-1980 Subject The topic of the resource Ignacio; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Collection of biographies, predominantly of residents from the Ignacio Senior Center, based on interviews conducted by Shelby Smith from approximately 1973 to 1980. The abridged interviews were originally published as individual entries in The Thoughtful Years newsletter, published by the Ignacio Senior Center, beginning in 1973. They were later published as a whole in Smith's book: Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley, from which the original scans in this collection have been derived. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smith, Shelby Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Juan Gallegos Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1974-09 Subject The topic of the resource Gallegos, Juan; Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Juan Gallegos based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith in September, 1974. Included in the book "Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley" by Shelby Smith. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text 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/f6e6e8b4561ace20399e5da64057a933.pdf 7ed01eb79358a8859bf30db280617216 PDF Text Text JACK & ANNETTA (Burch) FROST "I was born May 27, 1910," Jack states, "north of the Southern Ute agency just above Oscar Slrain's place. My father was a Northern Ute named Moav and my mother was Maria Frost, a Southern Ute. Many of the Utes, like my father, used to have only one name. I had an older sister, Mamie and a younger brother, Curry, but both are now deceased. My parents were living in a tepee when I was born. When I was about four years old, we moved into a one room frame house four miles south of Bayfield on the west side of the river. My father was a good farmer. He raised wheat and oats and hay. He plowed with horses and a walking plow and taught me to plow as soon as I was old enough. We were very proud when he bought his first riding plow. The Allen Day School was one and a half miles away across the river. I got to ride a horse to school, which made it easy to ford the river. After fourth grade the school closed and I was sent to Towaoc the next year. My dad got sick and that was the end of school for me. I helped with the farm work at home full time until I married Annetta Burch. My father often told me stories about how the Northern Utes used to live. He said they never stayed in one place too long. They liked to camp and travel and move about the country, hunting game and picking pinon nuts and berries. They roamed from Grand Junction to Meeker to Vernal and to Moon Lake. They only went lo Ft. Duchesne to pick up their rations. He came with a group of Northern Utes to visit here and met and married my mother. After they were married, he never went back to Utah except for visits. Whenever he got restless or lonely, he hitched up his horses and buggy and went to see his people. When I was still a young man, I went to Utah on horseback to visit my dad's people. It took me 10 days to reach Myton, Utah (near Ft. Duchesne) going through Cortez, Monticello, Moab and Green River. Coming back I rode through Grand Junction, Montrose and Silverton lo Ignacio in 9 days. I married Annetta Burch in 1927, when I was 26 years old." Annetta was born February 2, 1913. When her mother, Ada Burch, died in 1915, Annetta's grandparents, Steve and Ruth Burch took her to raise, along with two other grand-daughters, Essie Kent and Cora Jefferson. "We lived in an adobe house," Annetta says, "just a short walk north of the Allen Day School. My grandfather was a farmer. He raised turkeys and rabbits for sale, but his real interest was thoroughbred race horses. He raised beautiful horses, some of which he raced and others he sold. We traveled everywhere within a hundred miles of Ignacio to race and to attend horse sales. I remember a trip to Ridgeway. My grandparents hitched up the wagon, loaded their camp supplies and headed north into the mountains. My job was to sit in the back of the wagon to hold the reins of the race horses and keep them calm. Grandfather allowed five days to reach Ridgeway, a very slow pace, so the horses would not become too tired to race. The trip was a lot of fun. We'd watch the beautiful country go by and cook out on the open fire. I was older than Essie and Cora and loved to tease and frighten them. Grandfather often told us stories, some of them scary ones as we rode along and as we sat around the camp fire in the evenings. After we had heard one of these stories it was very easy to scare the other girls, especially Essie because she was the youngest. I sometimes got spanked for this. At the races there was a lot of noise and excitement. People attended for the fun of seeing one another as much as for 54 �~ ~ --i ' ' 'l the races. After the races there was always a lot of horse trading before the long trip home." J J "I attended Allen Day School. That was where I first met Jack Frost. At that time the Utes didn't know about most of the holidays, but we were taught about Christmas at school. I learned Twas the Night Before Christmas well enough to give it at a program. The teacher even took me to recite it at Bayfield." Jack interrupted at this point to say, "She had a good memory but I always beat her at the spelling bees. " ) J ) ' ) '1 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) J ) ) J Jack and Annetta were married in 1937. They have 9 children. Dorothy is the oldest, then Clement, Ray, Dixie, Darlene, Donna, Byron, Ronnie and Debbie, Most of the children still live near Ignacio, but Ray is in Tucson, Byron is in Washington and Debbie is attending College at Missoula, Montana. For many years the Frosts have lived on a farm just north of the place where Annetta was raised. At first they made their living almost entirely by farming. "We milked 5 Jersey cows, earning $15.00 per week selling the cream. We had 300 chickens and traded the eggs for groceries. It was not all work. We both loved horses. When Annetta was still with her grandparents, she was forbidden to ride the race horses, but she sometimes sneaked the jockey saddle on one of the fast ones and went for a wild ride, "My interest," Jack recalls ''was just as strong. During the 1940's, I traveled with a local Cowboy's Polo Team. One of the horses I rode was a big help. He learned to kick the ball and sometimes made a score. I never got to play basketball or football, but I played baseball every Sunday on a team sponsored by the B.I.A." Involvement with the business of the Tribe has always been important to the Frosts. Annetta served on the Education Committee during the 1950's, Jack has served on the Adoption Committee and has been a member of the Southern Ute Tribal Council, Jack has worked at many jobs to supplement his family income (at the John Deere Agency, at the Headstart, as a night-watchman, etc., but his heart and Annetta's heart have always been on the farm and the land of their fathers . .) Shelby Smith -- Taken November,1979 _J J J .J J .J J J ~ .J J J J J J 55 � 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 Jack Frost and Annetta (Burch) Frost Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1979-11 Subject The topic of the resource Frost, Jack; Frost, Annetta (Burch); Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Jack Frost and Annetta (Burch) Frost 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 Frost, Jack; Frost, Annetta (Burch) 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/ccae8df7e83c41e18f20ba60bb215f42.pdf 49eececa3a801be5f99cc51caf28202e PDF Text Text 'l I'"") ' 'l "") 'l } ' ) J ) ) ' J ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) _) _) j ..J J J j J ..J J ...) ...) J J J ...J ....) EMMIT EVANS Emmit Bud Evans and his twin sister were born August 7, 1896, at Old McGee in the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma Indian Territory near present day Stratford in East Central Oklahoma, Their parents, Isaac and Mary Ann had a total of 12 children. After living at Old McGee for several years, the family moved to Maud, a small settlement in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, When Isaac was a young man, he worked for the Butler-Stewart Cattle Co, driving herds from East Texas across the Indian Territory to join the Chisholm Trail at Enid. Since there were no railroads into Texas in the 1870's and early 1880's, the only way the great herds of Texas could reach the markets in the East was by means of the classic cattle drives 600-800 miles north to the railheads in Kansas. On one of these drives Isaac met Mary Ann. They were married in 1883. Isaac had wintered one herd of cows in Barber County, Kansas and was so impressed with the quality of the buffalo grass that he decided to move his family further north into either Kansas or Oklahoma. Everyone who traveled in Oklahoma in frontier times sooner or later had a tale to tell about crossing one of its rivers. During most of the year, except after heavy rains, the rivers of central and Western Oklahoma run mostly underground. The South Canadian is typical. Though the river bed may be a mile wide, only a few channels run water. The remainder of the bed is sand or the dreaded quicksand. People wanting to cross with wagons would hitch four or more mules and make a run for it, whooping and hollering to spur the critters on. Most people made it, of course, but every year a few wagons and animals and occasionally some people were lost in the quivering sands. The Evans made it to Maud, acquired a farm and built a log house, Emmit recalls, "Dad was strictly a cattle man and so all of us boys had to learn to ride, rope, bulldog and brand, I can still hold any steer in the country. Just give me his tail and throw him and I'll hold him down," "Dad built our log house out of Cottonwood, That's good building material, but you better drive your nails before it dries or you may not get them in. Even the rafters were cottonwood 2' by 6's. Once they dry they'll hold up anything. We raised enough food in our garden to feed the whole family all year. Mother kept our canned food and potatoes, carrots and cabbages in the cellar. We got all the wild fruit we wanted. There were the little sour red sand plums for jelly and a large sweet plum for eating fresh . Then there were paw-paws and the persimmons and Black Haws which got us fat for the winter. That country is full of Black Walnut Trees and Native pecans. Every fall each of us kids would gather all the pecans we could sell at 4 cents per pound, and then we put away 100 pounds for ourselves, which we stashed under the stairs. No one bothered anyone else's sack. On cold winter evenings we would crack and eat all the pecans we wanted. Sometimes we'd play hully-gully. One of us would hold 2 or more pecans between our palms and shake them till they rattled. By the sound the other person would guess how many there were. If he guessed right, he got the pecans. If he guessed wrong he had to give the other person an equal number of pecans from his supply." 51 �"Since there was no school at Maud, I didn't start at 6 years of age. When Emma and I were 10, Dad took us to the Meckusuki Mission School, a boarding school over on the Seminole Reseivation. We didn't like it a bit. We got there at 1:00 in the afternoon. By 10:00 at night we had walked all the way home. We expected Dad to be mad, but he decided that if we were that unhappy, we wouldn't have to go. Though I didn't realize it at the time, I had met an exceptional person at the Mission School. Jim Thorpe, all American athlete and Olympic star, was enrolled in the Meckusuki School the same day I was. He ran away, too. His father brought him on horseback. Jim didn't wait as long as we did to run away. In fact he out-distanced his father's horse and was home before his father, evidence of the great runner he would become." Not long afterwards, a school was built at Maud. It was a rough building with homemade benches and boards for writing, but we had a good teacher. Alva Christian was from Tennessee and he took no nonsense from the kids. The children at Maud school were normal, healthy, husky, rascally frontier kids full of mischief. Mr. Christian was a match for them. He kept 15-20 dogwood switches of various thicknesses behind the map case and he used them. Emmit says, "He had eyes in the back of his head. If we were inattentive or naughty or dull, he went for a switch. He'd throw it to us, order us to bring it to him and then proceed to wear it out on us. Such methods seem harsh today, but he was a good teacher. He made us learn. He taught us vocal and instrumental music and public speaking. Every Friday night he required us to participate in a "literary''. A crowd from the surrounding territory came to these affairs to witness the students in debate, extemporaneous speaking, recitations and music. It was one of the few entertainments available to frontier people." After 7th grade students had to pay tuition of $2.00 in order to attend high school. Emmit didn't have the money so the businessmen in Maud paid the tuition so he could play football. "We had a great team, but no coach," Emmit remembers. "A couple of our teachers, Mr. Greggs and Mr. Geisinger knew a little bit about the game, but we were on our own. Even so we beat Shawnee, Seminole, Ada and all the other big towns around there. I joined the National Guard in high school with no idea it would involve me in the first real adventure of my life. When Pancho Villa started raiding across the border, our unit was called up and sent to Brownsville, Texas, with General John Pershing, who later became famous in World War I. Since I could speak Spanish passably because of a course or two I had taken, I was assigned as Pershing's interpreter. We raided across the border and tramped around. Except for a few shots fired at banditos we didn't accomplish anything. Back home I finished high school and got a football scholarship to attend Phillips University at Enid, Oklahoma, a college sponsored by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). We had a great year. Our coach was Johnny Maulbautch, AllAmerican halfback from Michigan. We beat Oklahoma University, Texas University and everybody else we played. My studies there were interrupted by World War I. After some training at Houston, we boarded a cattle boat at Galveston for France. The stench on that trip was memorable. The ships traveled in convoy to get some protection from the German U-Boats. We landed in England and then on to Bordeaux. I was assigned to the Headquarter Co. of F215 Field Signal Battalion in the Belmont Woods. The war was 52 �I"") .. . .-, ') } ' ' } ' ) nearly over except for the time several of us got paid and went AWOL to Paris. The tripback was on another darned cattle boat, 19 days to Boston . " By the time Emmit got back from the war, Phillips University had dropped its football program, so he got a scholarship to attend Southwestern University at Winfield, Kansas. He was involved in football and track. Back in high school Jim Thorpe had told Emmit if he wanted to be an Olympic winner he could never smoke and needed to train all the time. Emmit did this and was chosen for the American Olympic team which went to Stockholm, Sweden in 1920. "I came in second in the 100 meter dash. At least I was beaten by an American." ) ] } ) ' ) ) ) ) ) ) ) J ) ) J _) .J ._) ..J ,.J ...) ._) J ..J J J ..J J J .,_) J In 1921 Emmit married Gladys Ely. She died in 1929 of pernicious anemia. There were no children. During the years Gladys was alive Emmit was coaching football at San Antonio Military Academy. They stayed there for 6 years until Gladys became quite sick, then moved back to Winfield, Kansas. Emmit was hired as superintendent of schools at Sharon, Kansas, then at Medicine Lodge, Kansas. In 1933 Emmit married Madge Aubley. They lived in Medicine Lodge until 1945, when Emmit semi-retired and moved to Pagosa Springs, Colorado. "I liked to hunt and fish," Emmit says, "and Pagosa was right in the middle of the best I could find." In succeeding years Emmit taught school in Durango, then Cortez, then as superintendent at Dove Creek and at Kit Carson, Colorado, until 1959 when Madge died. Madge and Emmit had three children. Virginia Springmeyer now lives in Canon City; Mary Jane Nelson how lived in Hawaii and Emmit Bud Jr. lives in the Piedra Valley north of Navajo Lake. The girls were already gone from home when Madge died. Emmit moved to Fort Collins so that Emmit Jr. would have the advantage of better schools. Though officially retired, Emmit took a job as Larimer County Librarian till 1964. About this time Emmit and Jr. built the Indian Head Lodge on Williams Creek Lake. They sold groceries, gas etc. and enjoyed the wilderness. After Junior finished college, he received a $25,000 fellowship to work towards his Ph. D at the University of California at Berkeley. After acquiring his degree, Emmit Jr. worked at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography near San Diego, until last year when he came to stay in the Piedra Valley for a while. Three of Emmit's eleven brothers and sisters are still living. One brother lives in Phoenix. One sister is in Oklahoma City and his twin sister, Emma still lives in Wichita, Kansas. Mr. Evans stays in the Piedra Valley in the summer. In winter he takes off for Mexico or other points far away. Right now he is enroute to Maud, Oklahoma, to participate in his high school's 60th class reunion . "As far as I know one other lady and I are the only ones in our class left. I'm looking forward to seeing her if she is still alive." How much fun and rascality and adventure can be packed into one life? That depends, of course upon who we're talking about. If it's Emmit Evans, the answer is a lot. Shelby Smith, June 1977 53 � 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 Emmit Evans Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1977-06 Subject The topic of the resource Evans, Emmit; Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Emmit Evans based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the June, 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 Evans, Emmit 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