Another Chapter of My Life

The family moved from the Rio Grande river bank to a small town nearby. It was late in the summer when they took the tent down and loaded everything into the trailer.

The house was one half mile north of Center, Co. It was a white two story house with an outside toilet and a large yard with a small shallow lake next to it. The three school kids walked the half mile to school.  They lived in the kitchen and one bedroom. Other rooms were closed off to preserve heat; the only heat source was in the kitchen. It had a potbellied stove near one wall and the opposite wall had the very large wood burning stove. It had a reservoir attached to the end of the stove. It held warm water for doing dishes and their hygiene. It only held warm water while the stove had a fire in it. A small table located on the wall at the end of the stove held a wash basin and water bucket which held the drinking water. A ladle was kept in the bucket. Everyone drank from the same ladle.   There was no concern about exchanging germs. The dining table sat next to the wall by the potbellied stove with a bench on the back side for the kids to sit on.

The upstairs rooms were only investigated the day they moved in. The upstairs had three rooms and one room had a massive amount of funeral wreaths and dead flowers strewn all over. The mystery of the flowers was never solved. Their imaginations, fueled by the funeral wreaths and dead flowers, led to their belief that the upstairs was haunted by a ghost or possibly numerous ghosts. They all heard the eerie sounds coming from the upstairs night after night. They made sure one bed was placed in front of the door to the stairway to block it from the ghosts. Just in case they can’t walk through a door. This bedroom was actually the living room of the house. The main entrance to the house was in this room and was also blocked by another bed. They only used the backdoor entrance. They continued to share the house with the ghost, and had many conversations about the cause of the dead flowers and wreaths and what might happen if one went upstairs. This was not entirely a kid issue; the parents were also concerned about the overhead noise. Another mystery was the door to the other bedroom which opened from the kitchen. It was stuck tight during the day and very difficult to open, but it never failed to come creaking open during the night. One day Naomi was visiting and the door problem was explained to her. She said, “I think I can solve your problem”. She saw a heavy dresser sitting next to the door and the door swung open into the kitchen so she tugged and shoved, and with some help moved the dresser in front of the door. It took care of the problem, but created another one. The next morning the mom wanted something from the closed off bedroom and the dresser was in front of it. She was somewhat miffed about her sisters’ actions and wished she was there to move it back where it belonged. 

They planned to live there until the spring thaw at which time they would hightail it back to Oklahoma if enough money could be earned. The story went on forever, but this is another chapter.

 

From left to right: Dennis, Letha, Carol, Gene, Hollis, Bennie, Lorrene, Ray, Cecil.

The parents and the four on the right were the only ones in the Colorado episodes except for a baby sister that did not survive. The parents and the three men on the right are now deceased. Only four of us left.

Our Tent Living

They were known as the Okies that live down by the river; a family of seven including the baby. They had sold out, packed up their belongings, and traveled from Oklahoma to the San Luis Valley in Colorado. They pitched a tent by the Rio Grande River among the tall evergreen trees and the roaring river sounds. Many families moved to California, and lived in migrant tent camps in 1935. They didn’t have any tent neighbors in Colorado, but there were a couple cabins nearby where families lived, their only neighbors. They also had access to an outdoor toilet.

They didn’t live very high on the hog, but didn’t go hungry. Fish was a great food source. Rainbow trout waiting to be caught, and all that was required was a rod and reel, and a hungry fisherman. They had fried fish and fried taters cooked over the camp fire. The drink of the day was Kool-Aid, red Kool-Aid, orange Kool-Aid, and purple Kool-Aid.  There was also an ice plant nearby where they could pick up all the free ice they needed for their Kool-Aid. Breakfast was fried eggs and more fried taters and store-bought bread.

A lettuce picking job was found, and the family parked the car at the end of the field. The ones old enough to work in the field picked up the heads of lettuce. The younger ones left to dillydally around the car and watch the baby. Happy Hour was when it was time to go home to the tent.

One day it rained and it rained a lot. Somewhat as it was in Noah’s day only they gathered in the tent instead of the ark to wait it out. 

Bath time was once a week whether they needed it or not. They had a galvanized tub which they carried around in the trailer with a few other necessities. The tub of water was heated on the campfire. Everyone took their turn in the tub in the same water. You do what you need to do.  There was some privacy provided with quilts draped over chairs around the tub. The chairs were from the trailer. 

The mom washed their clothes in the same tub, but with brand new water.

The clothes were draped over the same chairs, and anything else that was available.
One day the Dad said, “We need to find a house to live in before it gets cold, and get these children in school”.  He always called his kids, children because his children were children, and not goats.

This was the end of the tent living in 1935.