My Twin Grandmothers

Here's a pic of my twin Grandmothers.

I think Zella's on the left and Stella's on the right? lol I really don't know.

-- Submitted by Larry Wall

The Palmer House - Another Mail Order House

In talking to my mother (Alice Gregory) over the last few days, she tells about "The Palmer House" located on their farm out southwest of Haigler. My dad told her it was a house ordered from the Sears & Roebuck Catalog. A large two story house. My dad was friends with Arch and Beanie Palmer.

Does anyone know anything else about the Palmer House?

-- Submitted by Sherri Gregory

(see Mongomery Ward House and Trivia Question)

Grand-dad Samson

My Great Granddad Samson was a blacksmith. I finally got my hands on a picture of him standing behind an anvil holding a large sledge hammer.

I remembered seeing this picture when I was a child and asked my mother to get it scanned and send it to me. My sister, Leone, borrowed the picture from Mamma and scanned it for me.

We know that the man on the left with the wide brimmed hat is my great grandfather William Martin Samson, known around Haigler as Bill Samson.

He was my dad Rich Gregory's and Violett Workman's grandfather.

Does anyone recognize the other man in the picture? This picture was probably taken sometime between 1895 and 1910.

It could have been taken before the Samson's moved to Haigler, but I think it was taken in Haigler. The family moved to Haigler sometime around 1900 after migrating from Rock Bluff, Nebraska. I think they lived near Long Island, Kansas for awhile before moving to Haigler, because that is where my grandmother Mollie (Samson) met Dave Gregory. Dave followed Mollie to Haigler and they were married in 1907.

Bill Samson's wife Mary Frances (Goodin) died in Rockbluff, Nebraska in 1894 when their youngest child, Thomas (Tom) Samson was 3 years old. Soon after that, Bill moved his family westward and settled in Haigler.

-- Submitted by Sherri Gregory

Montgomery Ward House

Violett Relph enthusiastically enjoys the Haigler Blog. Her younger son, Lavern (LaVeta's twin brother), who has a computer and access to the Internet, gives her printouts of things he thinks might interest her.

She comments on the Montgomery Ward house that was mentioned in the early days of Haigler Blogspot site. She remembers her father, Floyd Trembly, talking about it. It was received at the Haigler Train Depot in crates and assembled on what is now a vacant lot across the street south of the Haigler Elementary School. The scattered remnants of a cement foundation and a depression in the ground are the only evidences of its existance. The site, of course, is now grown over with grass and weeds.

Violett has checked with Ward Wonder and others who confirm that this was, in fact, the location. The house was moved sometime later to a location south of Haigler in Kansas. Stan Zuege showed Ray the spot south of the school.

We want to find out exactly where the house was moved to and see if we can locate it and hopefully get a picture.

--Submitted by Floy Ruggles

Editor's note: The picture above is an ad for a "Wardway Homes" house taken from a 1925 magazine. It is not necessarily like the one constructed in Haigler. A home like this sold for around $3,000. Other catalog companies like Sears & Roebuck also had Home Kits for sale in their catalogs. These homes were designed to look like the custom built homes of the time, so many of them look like the homes we see around older sections of cities and towns. Here is a link to the Wardway Homes of 1925. One of them is very likely similar to the one built in Haigler.

(see The Palmer House - Another Mail Order House)

Identical Twins

Larry Wall is my cousin. His father, Max Limon Wall and my mother, Helen Elizabeth Wall-Cross were brother/sister. Stella Wall was their mother. Stella and her sister, Zella, were as identical as they get. Even their own kids could not tell them apart! I could not tell which one was my grandmother when they were together.

They got great delight dressing identically at family reunions and confusing people. It was uncanny how they would buy the same print dresses, same shoes, pocket books, and other apparel without the benefit of consultation or knowing what the other was buying. Stella lived in Haigler and Zella lived in Denver and never consulted with each other on their purchases. They even had same hairdos.

Stella and Zella used to giggle and laugh about how their boyfriends could not tell them apart. Their husbands to be, brothers Bill and Perry Wall, bragged how they could tell who was who or which was which, but the joke was on them as the sisters would swap dates many a time and the brothers never knew the difference!

I sure do enjoy The Haigler Blog.

--Rex Cross in Key West, Florida.

What's Cool About Haigler

If you have ever lived in a large city where you didn't know your neighbors, you would appreciate the warm friendliness of Haigler. Everyone knows each other and keeps an "eye out" for strangers. If you don't live there, and you stop in town, it isn't long until several people know you are there, even if you don't see them. If you live there, everyone knows when you are sick, or have a visitor, or are in need of something. It is like having a large family. You don't get that in the city.

Even though people have to travel to Wray or St. Francis or Benkelman to see a doctor, it takes less time to get there than it does in the city. The EMTs in Haigler know who you are and "REALLY DO" care about you, more than just being their job, you are their friend. They know your family and can contact them even if you can't tell them who you are. That wouldn't happen in the city.

Haigler is a place where the men are men and the women are too!! Hahaha... that was a joke. Just means that the women work just as hard as the men to make things work. None of this "Princess" stuff. People are willing to do whatever it takes to make their lives work.

Tell me what YOU think is COOL about Haigler!

Want a Picture?

If you were going to visit Haigler next week, what would you want to do? Who would you want to talk to? What would you want to see?

For people who live in and around the town, everything seems to stay the same day after day, but for people who moved away and haven't spent much time in town lately, there are things they think they remember, but aren't quite sure... For example: Which buildings on main street are still there (maybe remodeled, but the same buildings)? What does it now look like where the old standpipe used to "stand"?

Tell me what you would like to see a current picture of. Tell me who you would like to see or have a current picture of.

The BLOG will try to connect you...

Knob and Tube Radios

A must first, the old Victrola record player -- a big box looking thing with a large horn like thing on the top (speaker), with a wind-up handle on the side. YEP!! we were ROCKIN' then!!

Then the old knob and tube radio with several wave length channels, or bands, could listen to Spanish stations. (don't know where they actually originated from) Stuff that sounded like outer space, also. We used to listen to the boxing station and Arthur Godfrey in "Lonely Little Petunia in an Onion Patch" -- Johnny Cash. Then came a few more modern (non-transistor) radios in the cars and at home. "Let's do the Hop", Blue, Blue, Blue Suede Shoes" and others.

The CB radio (Citizen Band). Everybody had a handle. I was "Scrooge", and my wife was "Big Spender". hehe!! 10-4, Big Buddy!!.. Over and Out, Copy that!... Received!... Come back. We had a CB in the early 1970's in the motorhome. Channel 19, I think, if you were east and west; Channel 17 if you were north and south. Channel 09 was React (Emergency). The FAA had strict rules, but some guys would power up beyond capacity and reach Alaska on a cloudy day when signals could skip. Yep! It was fun!

Maybe I kinda went beyond the Haigler thing, but I think a lot of people had CB radios in their trucks, tractors, etc. But radios were out even before my time. Always could hear Goodland or Colby, Kansas with the Stock Market Report -- Corn, Wheat, Cattle, etc.

-- Submitted by Dallas Adams

Family Watch Dog

This site was developed by John Walsh from Americas Most Wanted. It is another tool to help us keep our kids safe.

It is http://www.familywatchdog.us/ When you visit this site you can enter your address and a map will pop up with your house as the small icon of a house and red, blue, green, dots surrounding your entire neighborhood. When you click on these dots, usually a picture of a person will appear with an address and the description of the crime he or she had committed.

You can look at or show your children pictures of convicted offenders and see how close these people live to your home or school.

-- Taken from Haigler Happenings - The Benkelman Post & News-Chronicle - October 25, 2006, p. 11A

Peek-a-boo

The famous Olympic skier Picabo Street (pronounced Peek-A-Boo) is not just an athlete.... She is now a nurse currently working at the Intensive Care Unit of a large metropolitan hospital. She is not permitted to answer the hospital telephones. It caused too much confusion when she would answer the phone and say, Picabo, ICU.

Games we played

Games we played when we were kids:

• HIDE & GO SEEK
• HOLLY AWK, HOLLY AWK, COME IN FREE
• JACKS, ONE BOUNCE, TWO BOUNCE, POSSIBLY THREE BOUNCE
• COWBOYS AND INDIANS----REMEMBER THE CAP GUNS, COWBOY BOOTS & HAT
• MAYBASKET--CATCH ME IF YOU CAN---(HEH!!! I MUSTA BEEN A LITTLE SLOW.)
• BICYCLE RACES----THE HAND ME DOWN BIKES, AND THE TWO WHEEL SCOOTERS
• ICE-SKATING ON THE RIVERS AND LAKES,
• ROLLER SKATING AT THE WRAY ROLLER RINK.
• TEASING OF ALL SORTS AND KIND, WHAT EVER YOU COULD MAKE FUN OF.
• GET OUT OF HERE YOU "HON YOCKERS"???? WHAT IS THAT????
• SLEDDING DOWN THE STEEP HILL,
  
• ALSO SOAP BOX DERBY DOWN THE HAIGLER HILL.

--SUBMITTED BY DALLAS ADAMS

NEBRASKA HUSKER FANS

We Husker fans amuse ourselves by scaring every Colorado fan we see strutting down the street, with that obnoxious Black & Gold "CU" on their shirt and/or hat. We would swerve our vehicles as if to hit them, and swerve back just missing them.

One day, while driving along, I saw a priest. I thought I would do a good deed, so I pulled over and asked the priest , "Where are you going, Father?"

"I'm going to say mass at Our Lady of the Hills Church , about 2 miles down the road," replied the priest . "Climb in, Father. I'll give you a lift."

The priest climbed into the rear passenger seat, and we continued down the road. Suddenly, I saw a Colorado fan walking down the road, with that "CU" shirt on, and I instinctively swerved as if to hit him. But, as usual, swerved back into the road just in time. Even though I was certain that I had missed the guy, I still heard a loud thud. Not understanding where the noise came from, I glanced in my mirrors, but still didn't see anything.

I then remembered the priest. I turned to him and said , " Sorry Father, I almost hit that Colorado fan." "That's OK," replied the priest, "I got him with the door!"

GO BIG RED!!!!

-- Submitted by Cal Freehling

Share A Story

Have you noticed the little envelope at the bottom of each post? If you click on it, a little email form will come up. You just fill in your name, email address, their email address and click the send button and a link to the story is sent to your friend.

Try it out. Share your favorite story with someone you know.

Boyd / White/ Keller / Freehling / Wagner Update on previous Post

Be sure to read the comments after the post "Boyds then Whites". Calvin Freehling and Alice Gregory have made some additional comments clarifying the Freehling and Wagner and Keller family connections.

The Skeleton Dance

Since it is nearing Halloween, check out The Skeleton Dance, a 1929 cartoon by Walt Disney.

Be sure to turn up your speakers and enjoy this early animation set to music.

--Submitted by Larry Wall

Happy Birthday, Lillian Mahon

Lillian Mahon's birthday is this week, Friday, October 27.
I'm sure she would love getting cards from you. Just mail them to: Lillian Mahon, Haigler, NE 69030

Catholic Church in Haigler

Doesn't anyone remember the Catholic Church in Haigler? It was across the street from the Texaco station, next door to Jim Dexter's house.

Does anyone have pictures of this church? Or know where the building went?

I don't remember who were members of that church or who their priest was, but I do remember that the church had a tall steeple with a bell in the belfry.

Memeory Help - Anyone ?

Oddfellows Hall

Don Harford mentioned in his letter about the Oddfelows Hall in 1920.

My Dad, Emmons Adams, joined the Oddfellows Hall in 1929 at the tune of $6.00 to join and annual dues of $10.00. He may have been District Grand Master (DGM81) out of North Platte or District Deputy, I don't know for sure which.

My Mother, Iona Adams, belonged to the Independant Order of Oddfellows in 1929, Rebecca's Lodge.

I don't know anything about the history of the Oddfellows Lodge or the organization, but here in Camano Island, Washington, there is an Oddfellows Lodge Hall and a large park.

My sister, Joann Webster, is the family historian and she is the one who has supplied me with most of this information. I remember my parents belonging to the organization, but, before my time. These prices were from the depression years, which were tough on a lot of folks.

Anyone who has additional information about the Oddfellows of Haigler, please feel free to add to this blog.

--RESECTFULLY SUBMITTED BY DALLAS ADAMS

The Wall Family

Larry Wall, a grandson of Bill & Stella Wall, sends pictures that you may recognize.

Larry says, "I'm sending you some photos of us kids and my parents. Maybe someone will recognize this wild bunch! hahaha! Thanks, Larry"

This is Larry's parents, Lyman and Bonnie Wall and their kids. The names of the kids from top left to right are Judith Ann, Michael Ray, Connie Lee, Nancy Lynn, Larry Gene, and Janet Kay.









He also included a picture of Bill and Stella and family and says "Let's see if anybody from Haigler can name my Grandparents and their bunch."

See how many you can get correct. Larry will be the judge. Enter your answers by making a comment at the bottom of this post.

Boyd's Then White's

I didn't know much about Haigler from away back, except through other people’s stories. We mostly went to Parks. It was closer and was my parents’ "home town", plus my Aunt Georgia's house was along the road to Parks.

I remember White's house when it was Boyd's house. Grandma Boyd was a tiny little woman. Her son, George, who was single, lived with her and did the farming. Their first house was on the south side of the road (CR891 /BB) between Uncle Vester Crabtree's house and east of the Parks Road in that quarter section that we call “the basin”. Boyds finished "proving up" and moved cornerwise across the road to start proving up over there on the section later known as the Barber (Reichert) place.

My grandparents, Peter and Sarah Crabtree, lived at the Boyd’s first place while they were building a barn and house and dug a well on their own place on the next quarter south. Otherwise they would have had to sleep under their wagons or something I guess. They were lucky that the Boyd's house was right there standing empty. My dad, Frank, was about nine years old, Aunt Cora about 5, Aunt Sarepta , maybe 16. Uncle Vester, about 17, Mary and Addie. The three oldest of the family, Uncles Will, Dave, and Abel were still in Eastern Nebraska.

Rudolf Boyd stayed on the next place and farmed it while Mrs. Boyd and George moved over to what is now owned by the Whites. Rudolph and Gertrude Boyd had three boys: Max, Bill and Don. Rudolph died when the boys were quite young and Gertrude moved to Haigler and rented the farm out. The boys went to Haigler school but, Don, who was the youngest often stayed out in the country with his Grandma and Uncle George Boyd and went to the Prairie Bell School.

The first people who rented Gertrude’s place were the Charlie Armstrong family. They moved there sometime during the year when I was in sixth grade (1925) and Mildred and Marjorie came to our school, Prairie Rose for several years. Then the Armstrongs bought the Zuege place and the Alva McDonald's rented it.

Sometime during that next summer, Gertrude married Mose Barber and they moved back out to her farm so Don Boyd lived with them and came to Prairie Rose when he was in seventh grade. Emma Freehling was the teacher and her sister Alma was teaching at the John Keller School. Alma boarded with the John Keller family. John’s wife was also a sister of Alma and Emma Freehling. (Editor's note: Correction - John Keller's wife was Alma and Emma's Aunt. Read the comments from readers for clarification)

To homestead was quite an undertaking. A lot of settlers gave up and left without proving up and another settler would buy it from them or somehow acquire the land and continue building it up.

--Submitted by Alice Gregory

(Editor’s note: When she was a child, Alice lived west of the first Boyd place and east of the White’s section.)

American Legion

I'm not sure how to write about this subject without documentation, but I will do the best I can from what I don't know!

Emmons Adams was a member of the American Legion, Post #134 in Haigler from 1939 to 1969. He qualified for membership because of his service during World War I. His Membership Number was NB9-0134-0001 out of North Platte, Nebraska. He had many years of continuous membership.

Lester Adams, my brother, is at the present time a 60 year member of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars because of his service during World War II. He served at Guadal Canal.

I served during the Viet-Nam era, but spent my time in the contenantal USA. I recently joined the American Legion here in Washington state about one month ago. My son, William, joined the US Marines right after high school, but was discharged due to a medical condition. The Adams family has the credentials of military support.

Many young men and women served during the war years and definately need to be recognized for their service years contributed to the military of the US Government and for their unselfish honor.

Many citizens rallied for the World War II efforts and many of them were from Dundy, Cheyenne and Yuma Counties. I salute you and others from all across the USA for what we have today -- our freedom and your unselfish service and a special thanks for the golden boys who did not come back home.

I will update more information as I receive it and others may want to contribute to sons and daughters of Legionaires also. My sister, Joann, supplied me with a lot of additional information about the Adams's. My apology to those that I may have not mentioned in the above information as there were many who served.

-- SUBMITTED BY DALLAS ADAMS

I Remember The Tucker and Straub Families

I remember the Tuckers and Straub families. I taught Paul Straub and Ella Mae Workman in the 8th grade. They were cousins, somehow. I think Jake Straub was somehow related to Lottie (Mrs. Ern) Workman and Hannah (Mrs. Paul) Zuege. Rosie Straub was also a sister of Harvey Hofer.

If you figure it out, most people in the community were "related"

I remember that Rosie Tucker married Wayne Ritchey. They were working for Marvin and Gladys Mills when Jane Mills was born. Then they moved to St. Francis where Wayne got a good job. Wayne's brother, Tom Ritchey, married Mildred Cook. I taught Mildred in the 8th grade at the Mills School. Her twin sister, Marjorie, was in the same grade. They had a sister Alice and brothers Thomas and Dwayne. I went to high school in St. Francis with their older sister, Elizabeth. There was another older brother, John, who married Elsie (Straub) Miller after her husband, Curtis Miller, died. Curtis and John Cook were cousins.

Irene Straub married a Garner and I don't remember who Leota Tucker married, but I remember that 4 Tuckers married 4 Straubs. Oscar and Alice; Ida and Kenny (I think); Paul and Eunice were only married for a short time. I don't remember who the other one was.

I taught 5 of the Straubs at East 10 school. Paul down to Irene. They were nice kids.

--Submitted by Alice Gregory
(Note from editor: This letter was submitted quite some time ago, if it is a repeat, please let me know)

How old is Grandpa???

Stay with this -- the answer is at the end. It will blow you away.

One evening a grandson was talking to his grandfather about current events.
The grandson asked his grandfather what he thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age , and just things in general.

The Grandfather replied, "Well, let me think a minute, I was born before:

• television
• penicillin
• polio shots
• frozen foods
• Xerox
  
• contact lenses
• Frisbees and the pill

There were no:

• credit cards
• laser beams or
  
• ball-point pens
  

Man had not invented:

• pantyhose
• air conditioners
• dishwashers
• clothes dryers
• and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air and man hadn't yet walked on the moon
  

• Your Grandmother and I got married first, . . and then lived together.
• Every family had a father and a mother.
• Until I was 25, I called every man older than me, "Sir".
  
• And after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title, "Sir."
• We were before gay-rights, computer- dating, dual careers, daycare centers, and group therapy.
• Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments, good judgment, and c ommon sense.
  
• We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions.
• Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege
• We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent.
• Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins.
• Draft dodgers were people who closed their front doors when the evening breeze started.
• Time-sharing meant time the family spent to gether in the evenings and weekends-not purchasing condominiums.
  

• We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings.
• We listened to the Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the President's speeches on our radios.
• And I don't ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey.
• If you saw anything with 'Made in Japan ' on it, it was junk.
• The term 'making out' referred to how you did on your school exam.
• Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and instant coffee were unheard of.
• We had 5 &10-cent stores where you could actually buy things f or 5 and 10 cents.
• Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a Pepsi were all a nickel.
• And if you didn't want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards.
• You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600, . but who could afford one?
• Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.
  

In my day:

• "grass" was mowed,
• "coke" was a cold drink,
• "pot" was something your mother cooked in and
• "rock music" was your grandmother's lullaby.
• "Aids" were helpers in the Principal's office,
• " chip" meant a piece of wood,
• "hardware" was found in a hardware store and
• "software" wasn't even a word.

• And we were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby. No wonder people call us "old and confused" and say there is a generation gap... and how old do you think I am?
• I bet you have this old man in mind...you are in for a shock!
• Read on to see -- pretty scary if you think about it and pretty sad at the same time.

This man would be only 59 years old

-- Submitted by Dallas Adams

Haigler Cheer 1927

-- Submitted by Cal Freehling

Junior Senior Banquet 1927

Cal Freehling sent the following documents of the 1927 Junior Senior Banquet with signatures from the attendees.

(To see an enlarged version of these images, just click on them)

Front of Program

Menu and Program

Back of Program

Seniors
Helen Walter
Ray Richardson
Lela Swan
Mervin Hattan
Bernice Kelley
William Boyd
Dorothy Larned

Juniors
Lee Premer
Leonard Brown
Vivian Cooper
Viola Schmutte
Kenneth Brown

Participants
Lottie (Mrs. Fred) Brust
Grace Sampson
Lillian McKay
Helen Kellogg
Mrs. R. C. Chase
C. S. Hoffman

1927 High School Commencement Program

Class Roll
Helen M. Walter
Raymond R. Richardson
Dorothy E. Larned
Lela M. Swan
Mervin C. Hattan
William G. Boyd
Bernice B. Kelley

On the Program
Marguerite Kelley
Dulcie Armstrong
Rev. George M. Carter
Miss Maud Porter
Lela Swan
J. B. Logan
Frank Webster
Dorothy Larned
R. C. Chase
Rev. C. R. Lighte
Carl S. Hoffman
Rev. Jack Campbell

-- Submitted by Cal Freehling

Fancy Ladies are Blood Sisters

Karen (White) Lindell and I grew up 2-1/2 miles from each other on adjacent farms, southeast of Haigler.

We decided one day that we should become blood "sisters" just as the Indians used to do when they wanted to adopt a white man into their tribe. So, one day, we got up the courage to cut the end of our fingers and hold them together and let the blood mix together.

So, you see, we became sisters as well as neighbors.

She sent me two pictures this morning that I have never seen. She found them while looking through some pictures her mother had kept.

Both of these pictures were taken by Lillie White just outside the south door of their farm home southeast of Haigler. I think we were about 8 years old and were playing with umbrellas that day pretending we were fancy ladies. We always had vivid imaginations and could think up the most fun things to do!!

An interesting note: Karen still has her umbrella. She says its bright pink with flowers.

(You can click on the pictures to see an enlarged version)

What is a BLOG?

Eunice, my sister asked what a BLOG was, so I looked it up and here is the definition:

Blog is short for weblog. A weblog is a journal (or newsletter) that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or the Web site.

Another definition:

A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world.

Your blog is whatever you want it to be. There are millions of them, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules.

In simple terms, a blog is a web site, where you write stuff on an ongoing basis. New stuff shows up at the top, so your visitors can read what's new. Then they comment on it or link to it or email you. Or not.

Since Blogger was launched, almost five years ago, blogs have reshaped the web, impacted politics, shaken up journalism, and enabled millions of people to have a voice and connect with others.

Who Taught you to Bake Bread?

Mary Smith, that's who.

Anyone who has ever eaten at Don and Mary Smith's table knows what I mean when I say that she made the best dinner rolls ever!!

One day, after my sister Leone got married, Mary invited her and Leah to learn how to make those rolls that we call "Mary Smith Rolls" to this day!

She went through the ingredients and taught them how to scald the milk and add the butter in just the right way. Told them how important having them rise at just the right temperature and set the oven racks just so and bake them at the perfect setting.

We still have Mary Smith Rolls at every family gathering and remember her when we visit on those occasions.

Ice Skating at Don & Mary Smith's

When we were kids, we liked to go to Don and Mary Smith's house. Mary made the best bread in the world and her deserts were the most scrumptous ever!!

One of the things I remember about going to their house was that in the winter their ponds would freeze solid and they would invite us to come and go ice skating. They would set up a bonfire and we would roast hot dogs and marshmellows. They must have had several pair of clip on ice skate that we would clip onto our shoes and take off across the pond.

Those were the "good ole days"!!

Haigler Events Calendar

Check out the Calendar of Events!

On the right sidebar there is a calendar icon. If you click on it, you will be taken to a calendar where you can enter an event that you know of and read other events.

Birthdates are being entered as they are being submitted. Anyone can add events on the calendar up to one year in advance.

The ability to delete or edit events is limited to the blog editor, but if you see something inappropriate or something that needs to be edited, please report it through email. You can send email by clicking on the mailbox located on the right sidebar.

Scheduled Chat sessions will be posted there also.

Seniors have the Most Interesting Stories

Do you know a Senior Citizen who lived in the Haigler area during the early part of their life? How about giving them a visit and letting them tell you stories about their experience growing up in this corner of the world.

You will find these people still living in their homes, at the Hester Home in Benkelman, in Wray or St. Francis. Maybe as far as McCook or North Platte. I just know they would love to have a visit from you.

There are also people who have letters, diaries and memories told to them by parents who have so much to share.

We invite you to interview people and either record with a tape recorder, camcorder or write down these stories. Taking pictures and sharing them would also be exciting.

If someone who lives in Haigler would be willing to scan some pictures and send them along with stories, that would make it even more interesting!

I wish I would have listened closer when my dad was telling about his childhood in Haigler. I only have short blurbs of memory about things he said, but I am writing them down and comparing notes with my sisters, brother and mom and plan to publish some of them here on the blog in the near future.

It would be so interesting to hear your stories, too. I hope you will share them with us!

My Grandmother

Dave (Samual David) and Mollie (Mary Frances Samson) Gregory were married in Haigler, Nebraska on July 4, 1907. They first lived on a farm north of Haigler that they called the Aultman Place, but later took up residency in a house on south King Avenue.

They had 5 children; Frances Matilda, MaryAnna Margaret, William Richard, David Doyle and Elsie Fern.

Frances was named for her grandmother Mary Frances (Goodin) Samson, Margaret's first name came from both grandmothers (Mary Goodin and Anna Belle (Thrasher) Gregory), Richard received the family name of Richard which was passed down to one of the sons for many generations.

Dave owned a team of horses and a dray wagon that he used to haul anything people wanted moved from one place to another.

The year of 1914 was a very hard year for this family. Doyle acquired diphtheria and died in February 1914 at the age of 1 year. In August, Dave succumbed to tuberculosis. Fern, who was born in May, 1914, lived until December and was buried beside her brother and father in the Haigler cemetery in plots owned by Bill (William Martin) Samson, who was Mollie's father.


This picture is of the house where Dave and Mollie Gregory lived in 1914. It was taken in the 1980s during a drive through Haigler with my dad when he was showing me the places he lived when he was growing up in Haigler

Bill Samson owned and operated a hotel and restaurant on the corner of Porter Avenue and Hiway 34 where the IGA Grocery stands today. In order to care for and feed her family, Mollie went to work for her father. It was while working in the restaurant that she met Horace Roach, who was in town working for the C.B&Q Railroad.

Horace and Mollie were married on November 9, 1916. They set up residence on homestead land between Anton and Yuma, Colorado. This is where Marlin Franklin and Horace Quentin were born. In 1918, Horace's job on the railroad took them to Oxford, Nebraska for a awhile. This is where Ollie May and Virginia Jewell were born. They were back in Haigler, Nebraska from 1922 to 1930. Betty Lois was born in 1929 and around the year 1930, they moved north of Laird, where Bud (Lowel Thomas) was born. They later settled in Wray, Colorado where Horace and Mollie lived until his death in 1958 and hers in 1970.


This picture is of the house in Oxford, Nebraska, where the Roach family lived from 1918 to 1922 before moving back to Haigler, Nebraska.

My dad tells a story about when they moved from Oxford to Haigler, they loaded all their posessions on a Model A Ford. Things were tied on top and hanging from the sides and bumpers of this car. He remembers moving into a house that sat on the corner of where Hiway 27 now hooks into Hiway 34, just north of the house "Buck" Ryan grew up in. The last I looked, there is still remenants of a foundation in that location.

My Sister's Husband's Daughter's Grandmother's Daughter

Anyone interested to know how many of the Haigler families are connected either by marriage or birth?

I became interested in genealogy several years ago after my mother spent many hours constructing a TREE with branches and leaves showing 15 generations of Crabtree ancestors that she had connected by obtaining family information from others and searching of her own.

The internet has made it alot easier to find these connections. It used to take a visit in person to a genealogy library such as the one in Salt Lake City, Utah where there were miles of microfiche records of the U.S. Census and many other documents listing family connections.

One of the things I noticed when looking at the tree mamma had created was that there were a lot of people from the Haigler area shown there.

We spent many hours getting all of her information entered into a computer program, first using PAF a DOS based program produced by the LDS people in Utah. We have migrated to Family Tree Maker that allows us to click on someone's name and search through records on the internet and find census records, newspaper references, historical documents and many other sources of information.

Running into road blocks is quite common and it is sometimes by chance that you find a connection. It might be in a forum where someone wrote about the very person you are looking for or it may come with a new document being posted somewhere on the internet. It is a challenging hunt that can keep a person occupied for hours at a time.

One of my roadblocks is the family of George Bartlett. We have found his father and siblings, but cannot seem to get farther back than that. Seems that Jacob Harvey Bartlett (George's father) was born in New York, migrated to Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and possibly Nebraska, but he died when George was 8 years old and the connection with the family who stayed back in New York has somehow stayed concealed. We will continue looking.

George Bartlett homesteaded land south of Parks in what is now known as and marked on the maps as Bartlett Canyon.

One of his daughers, Bessie Mae Bartlett married Frank Crabtree and was my grandmother.

George Bartlett, Rich Gregory,
Frank Crabtree and
Leah (Gregory) Brewer.

Another of his daughters, Ruth (Bartlett) Wiley, married Frank Wiley. Their children were Ben Wiley, Frances Irene (Wiley) Rose, Dorothy (Wiley) DiGregorio, Doris (Wiley) Schorzman and William Royce Wiley.

Another was my aunt Georgia (Bartlett) Stafford, who was married to Lute Stafford and owned and operated a general store in Parks, Nebraska.

More Genealogy later: Most people can only take this subject a little bite at a time!

Esther (Hughs) Bartlett,

Alice (Crabtree) Gregory
Bessie Mae (Bartlett) Crabtree
Baby is Leah (Gregory) Brewer

I believe these pictures were taken at the Bartlett homestead south of Parks, Nebraska in the spring of 1940.

The Last Outhouse

In the scheme of things, the modern indoor bathroom is fairly recent. When I was a kid, the outhouse was located about 100 feet from the house beside the sidewalk that went out to the south fence. It sat beside the "coal house" where coal and cobs were stored to be burned in the pot bellied stove that sat in our living/dining room.

We had a two holer with lids. Some people only had one holers. Never did figure out why there were two holes. We never shared the "bench" with each other. Guess we did have a choice which one we used, though.

The lids really didn't help much. Maybe it kept the flies down? kept the stink in? I don't THINK SO!!

I remember daddy digging a new hole next to the other one. He'd move the toilet over the few feet and used the dirt from the new hole to fill in the old hole. WHEW it wasn't so bad for a few days!

We did have a chamber pot under the bed in the wintertime, just because it was so far to run in the dark and it took so long to get warm again!

This picture of Ray Ruggles beside the last "standing" outhouse was taken on a country tour of our corner of Cheyenne county a couple of years or so ago. This particular outhouse was where the Richerts lived in the 1950s on the corner of Parks Road and County Road 891 (BB) southeast of Haigler. The last time I was by there, all evidence of a farmstead has been erased.

(Boyd, Barber, Reichert Place)

The Geography of Nebraska

Do any of you use Google Earth? If so, as you zoom in on the Haigler area, you have seen the topography of the region which includes various elevations . The sandhills to the north, the flat farmland all around, the "breaks" to the east and the Arickaree river valley to the southwest and the wide Republican valley to the west and east.

I grew up on the south edge of the "canyons" east of Haigler, so our property included hills and valleys and canyons. None of our fields were actually square. The section where our farm was located had pastureland on the east, farmground in the north center and pastureland on the south. We could only farm the "tops" where it was somewhat flat.

I can remember during the early 1950s, my dad hired an outfit to come in and "terrace" the fields west and south of the house. The huge machinery followed the lay of the hills and piled rows of dirt along the sides of the hills to keep the topsoil from washing away during rainstorms.
That very summer, a huge summer storm came up from the west and it rained 4" in a very short period of time. The dirt on those terraces was still loose enough that along the west end of our property this storm left huge gullies where the water had rushed toward the valley taking black topsoil with it. I'm sure my dad was heartsick looking at the damage, but as kids, we had a wonderful time exploring our new world of gulleys and caves.

I found this link to an online book that tells about the geography of Nebraska. You might like to read about our part of the state. Geography of Nebraska, by George Evert Condra, (begin on page 72)

Bitten by a Skunk

I've been reading the book, "The Call of the Range" by Nellie Snyder Yost. The chapter I'm reading right now is telling about settling along the Republican River, the Texas Trail, cowboys and range fighting. Alot of the stories are about the Culbertson area. Here is an interesting little snippet, I thought you'd find interesting:

"In 1874, two ranchmen from the forks of the Republican, forty miles west, came into town. they had been living in a tent and one had been bitten by a skunk while he slept. He died the next day, of hydrophobia and Culbertson started its cemetery with him. The next burials were the Kansas horse thieves, Stewart and Randall, cornered and killed in Masacre Canyon by a cowboy crew led by Steve Bolles and the Doyle brothers. The next death was that of a respectable citizen, whose family would not bury him beside the other three, making it necessary to start another cemetery in a different place."

-- The Call of the Range, by Nellie Snyder Yost

Birds of the Haigler Area

Looking at a couple of blog entries reminded me; Are the magpies, bluejays, bob whites, quail, prairie chickens, pheasants and pigeons still plentiful in the area? The last few times I have been back, I have seen wild turkeys -- as many as 30 in a flock, but don't remember the other birds!??

June locusts used to be there by the thousands and grasshoppers were also very plentiful.

DDT, the chemical, almost wiped out the eagles and osprey here in Washington and the west coast. It was banned way back when?? 50's?

No snipes, of course!! Ha!

I have heard (Don't know if this is true) birds are the thermometor of how the eco/ecology system is working. Must be something beyond my comprehension to know how this works, but scientists must have it figures out?? Just thought I'd throw that out on the table for discussion??

When food is scarce from drought, floods, over population of other species it has to be tough all the way around.

I ate a lot of pheasants and duck when growing up. My dad, Lester and I were all hunters, as were alot of other Haiglerites.

-- Later, Dallas

Outlaws

"In 1884 two cowboys, Zimmerman and Belmont, stole a sizeable bunch of horses in Kansas, near the Colorado border, and moved them rapidly across Nebraska to Kearney county, where they stopped for supper in the little town of Minden. Most of the horses belonged to Tom Wray, and among them was a spotted saddle horse Wray's wife liked to ride. A neighbor of Wray's in town with a load of freight, recognized the horse. A bit later he saw Jack Woods, sheriff of Hitchcock county, ride into town and told him about the horses.

...Tom Wray, for whom the town of Wray, Colorado was named, brought cattle to south west Nebraska in 1876...

Woods and the Kearney county sheriff then hurried to the Prairie Home restaurant, where the outlaws were seated at a table in the back of the room, their guns in their laps. Woods went in the front door and covered Belmont, the most dangerous of the two. The other sheriff, supposed to enter from the back and cover Zimmerman, lost his nerve and dived down a handy cellar stairway instead.

The outlaws, too quick for Woods alone, shot him down before he could fire. Then gunning down two innocent bystanders, R. B. Kelly and Charles Collins, who tried to run out of the restaurant, they jumped on their horses and headed for Kansas. At a ranch many miles to the south, they ate supper the next evening and went to bed - but got up and left in the night, riding the two best horses on the place.

A ranch hand, owner of one of the horses, and his sweetheart, the hired girl, tracked the rustlers to an old abandoned house and hid in some brush near the buildings. When Belmont sauntered out the next morning, the cowhand shot him down. Zimmerman came out next, his hands up and surrendered.

The Wray horses, returned to their owner, were afterward known as "the Belmont mares."

-- The Call of the Range, by Nellie Snyder Yost, p. 271, 272

More About Flying Ranchers

The flying rancher, Arch Palmer, was brother to Beanie.

Well the father"s name was also Arch. But he didn't fly any plane. He walked and walked. He was an expert card player--I don't remember what kind of game. But he would take off walking to other towns to play. He would just leave without notice and be gone a few days or weeks or months.

On one of his trips he hitched a ride with some gypsies. They were very "nice" to him patting him on the back and sympathizing with him for being out on the road in the heat. They even took him to the place that he was headed for and were on down the road before he discovered that his money was all gone.

The family got used to the practice and knew that when he got ready to come home he knew the way. But then---one day after he had been gone awhile a neighbor who was starting to farm his field was shocked to discover his body along the fence row. His last trip. A shock for everyone.

Ben Wiley had an airplane hangar in our pasture. He had to open two and sometimes three gates. Sometimes he had to chase some cattle out of the way when he was ready to fly or to land.

One day Rex Daniels' daughter landed her plane there because of bad flying conditions. She walked the mile or more to our house to call home. She couldn't get them on the phone so I took her to town.

-- Submitted by Alice Gregory

Previous Post Flying Ranchers

Pets!

Farmers always have a lot of pets We had the usual dogs and cats (once, I think we counted 13 cats) The first dog I remember was "Penny". She was a copper-colored terrier (hence, the name Penny) and met her doom during an encounter with a cement truck.

Then we had "Smokey", who came to us from Paul and Marie Kamla; they had more baby dogs than they could deal with. We had Smokey for several years, until he learned that chasing chickens was a lot of fun!

When our little sister, Eunice was small, We had a large, white German Shepherd named Gilda; and a small, black pekingese mix named Nipper. They were very competitive for affection, and whenever we gave Gilda something to eat that she didn't particularly want, all we had to say was "here Nipper", and Gilda would gobble down the food.

Gilda wasn't a very friendly dog, especially after she had a large family. We were considering "sending her away", until one day she killed a rattlesnake right outside our front door where Eunice was playing. Gilda was bitten by the snake but survived; and after that, Mamma decided that she was a GOOD dog!

We made pets of our cows, too. I remember once when Sherri was little, her "cow" was a steer who was destined for market. She was pretty upset when we had to "sell her cow". Most of our milk cows had names--I remember, especially, Babe, Cherry and Angy. Several of our other farm animals got their names because we thought they looked like people we knew (who shall remain nameless).

Even the wild animals couldn't escape. We had a pet pigeon named Rajah, whose wings we clipped so he couldn't fly away. Rajah would ride behind us on the bicycle.


And the snakes couldn't escape us, either.. We had great fun in the haymow, poking around at the bullsnakes and making them hiss at us. We were just lucky that some of those bullsnakes didn't turn out to be rattlesnakes!

We caught hundreds of tadpoles one year, and put them in the stock tank. I'm sure my dad appreciated that!

I know a lot of you other readers have pet stories. I'd love to hear them.

-- Submitted by Leone Carlson