A WINTER IN COLORADO
In the spring of nineteen thirty four we lived south of Tasco, near where I was born. This was at the beginning of the severe drought of the thirties. Brother Wallace or, Bud, as he was known in those days was still at home but he "worked out" as the expression was. In other words he lived at home but he worked elsewhere. Harry Minium and Fred Setchell were running a cow herd and they leased the grass on the old Currier ranch which joined us. Wallace took the job of looking after the cattle. As the dry weather continued, grass became short and they leased the Turkey Track ranch in eastern Colorado. Ranches were often known by the owners brand and this was no exception. The brand had long ago disappeared but the name remained. This ranch was located twenty miles east of Fountain, Colorado. It was truly sparse grass country. The dominant grass was a species of gramma that grew in clumps with bare ground between. Sage was also abundant. It was also sandy in most areas with adobe flats in between. Rainfall was scant and winter blizzards were rare and perhaps nonexistent. It might snow a few inches but the snow would be gone in a day or two. I suspect that the mountains which towered in a north south range just west of Fountain had an effect on the weather. It was mild and the air was clear; clear almost beyond belief. The first time I saw it I was awed by the towering line of mountains to the west. They were beautiful in the early morning with the sun shining on them. One had the feeling that they could be touched with an outstretched arm. In the evening they appeared as a dark cloud that was ever present. Life there in those days was slow paced even if some days the hours were long. It was a life in the saddle, forever checking cattle and perhaps doctoring a sick one or repairing fence. They ran nine hundred mother cows. I do not know the acreage but it was a lot of ground to cover on a horse. No pickups and stock trailers in those days. Wallace moved to Colorado with the cattle in late summer. He lived at the ranch house where the corral and outbuildings were located. Wages were low but he liked the work. He broke several saddle horses while he was there. Once he was thrown and landed on his head. This appeared to be the cause of a severe back and kidney problem that plagued him the rest of his short life. A bachelors life was lonesome so he proposed that my older sister, Rosa, become his housekeeper and attend the Squirrel Creek high school nearby. This seemed to be a good idea and after a family conference she left home and finished high school in Colorado. Money was scarce and there was one less mouth to fed at home and of course this also put an end to the expense of high school. I believe that those three years were the happiest times in their lives. Both later married and raised a family but their marriages were beset with difficulties, however they both remained true to their marriage vows and preceded their spouses in death. Wallace was living with the kidney problem and it was finally decided that he should spend some time in Denver under the care of a specialist. This was the fall of nineteen thirty seven. Dad had died in the late winter of that year and money was so scarce that I did not return to school that fall. I took his (Wallace's) place at the ranch while he spent several weeks in Denver. I, an eighteen year old kid looking after seventeen hundred plus cows?? Well, ranching in that area was more a job of tending cattle. The cows ate sage brush and some carry over grass that had not been grazed in the summer. Rarely did the snow cover the ground. Cattle were given cotton cake every other day. That took considerable time but it was a rather slow paced life. It was a great experience. I treasure its memories.
Wallace decided to change jobs the following spring. We went to Alma, Colorado where we heard that the gold mines were hiring but after a couple of weeks we gave up. Wallace took a job on another ranch close to Fountain and I returned to Kansas where I worked at various jobs for a while. At this point things become a bit hazy. I believe it was in early summer that I paired up with Clifford Quakenbush, my mother's half brother, and Tom Thompson, Clifford's cousin. We went to Jefferson, Colo, and tried to get a job in the hay fields but we were late and they had their crews hired. Jobs were scarce in those days. We returned to Denver where my sister, Winnie, lived. Clifford had a brother, Floyd who lived in Denver too. We worked odd jobs, hauled bundles to a threshing machine and earned our way. I came back to Kansas and immediately went to Tryon, Neb. where I worked in the hay until school started in the fall. My mother's insistence paid off. I finished high school. It later proved to be a good thing.