The Breaks - South of Parks

The Breaks
St. Francis Herald, October 18, 2001
“North of St. Francis”
October 31, 2001

I wonder if this trail is the one down through the canyon where my Stafford cousins lived.It looks like it could be.

I know that the Horse Thief Cave is along that road. There was a narrow strip of hill in the bottom of the canyon with a hole going clear through it. Ethel and I wanted so bad to stop and go down and go through it, but we never had time. Besides being the road to Aunt Georgia’s, it was the road to Parks, and past Roundtrees (Uncle Foy and Aunt Evie” with Eunice, Rex and Max) I don’t remember for sure whether their farm was in Nebraska or Kansas. Later they moved to Parks and had a restaurant there and the Hightowers moved to their farm. That is where Margaret and Frank Hightower met. They were both 17 when they got married.

Coming from Parks through the brakes, the road leads through the canyon and up to the flat land. You come out on the flats all at once – a sudden change. One time my dad, when he lived in that homestead house that we later called the Kirschmer Place, had gone to Parks for supplies and got a new overcoat. Driving home, he didn’t notice the storm, but when he came up on top, the blizzard was so bad he couldn’t see a thing. Finally, he just let the horses go where they wanted to and they got him home. They came out a little bit west of his house, but as soon as they saw the farm they started to run. He was glad to let them. I guess it was after he had that nice big barn built. The roads then were trails here and there. No graded up banks and ditches along the sides. Just ruts. You could get in a good deep rut and you wouldn’t have to do much driving, I would guess. That was before I was around.

I do remember that my mamma drove the buggy. She could harness the horse and all that. But she had a problem trying to drive the car and quit trying.

November 01, 2001

I guess you know, but the trail in that story is the road that goes north from the corner just east of the Kirshmer place, just east of Uncle Vester’s place. The Historic Society of St. Francis has markers and all that fancy stuff. I don’t’ know that there is even a road down where it used to go. No one lives along there anymore. Everyone had moved out before Grandma and Uncle Art gave up their place. I think all the places along the road to Grandma’s are gone. I am trying to think of who all lived along there. Gilpens, Lou Daum over a hill or two from the road. Hanings. Mears at the bottom of the hill that the schoolhouse was on. And we could see the top of the barn at the Morehouse place, where Brent Richard’s family live now. Then the turn down that big hill into the valley that opens out into Nebraska east of Parks. Right there is where I got my directions switched. To me we went west instead of north.

That road straight north past the Ferguson place and through the brakes was put through “later” years. In the late 1930s. About when we lived on the Ritchey place… Before that was there, in order to get to St. Francis, you had to go to Haigler after those two trails became impassable...

Note from Floy: (Sunday, November 04, 2001)

“I GOT to fulfill your lifelong dream. We walked through that hole in the hill. We took road 17 – the first road past Uncle Vester’s place and went all the way through to Highway 34 close to Parks and didn’t see any sign of any caves. Then we went back the way we came and parked by a place where there were a lot of those high, narrow ridges or peninsulas. We walked one direction at the bottom of the canyon and did not see anything and then walked the other direction and just happened to stumble onto it. Then Ray saw the rusty sign after we walked the few steps through it. There was a post propped in the entrance on the east side. There was a crack opening up horizontally across the center about a foot above the hole. We were not expecting to find it that easily. Wasn’t the place where Aunt Georgia lived sort of on a little hillside? I think I can remember being there once. I remember the house they built in Parks better. They lived in the basement first and I remember that the best.

From Floy: November 05, 2001

I love the history lessons. They are precious. Keep them coming. That big barn with the hay mow or whatever it was called must have been lots of fun. I remember a haymow somewhere, but probably not that one. It was fun to play hide and seek in. Floyd had a big barn and Audrey and Eldon used to take me up there to play a lot when we went there to visit. That is where they liked to bite off baby sparrow’s heads to impress me, I guess. Baaaaaaad memory!! Your memory of the curve in the road is just the way it still is, I am quite sure. It is cut down from repeated gradings so much you are driving in the bottom of a trench. There is a big farmstead with lots of grain bins and nice evergreen windbreaks just south of where you go down into the “breaks.” You probably know who lives there. I had forgotten about the fire that burned Stafford’s house until you mentioned it. I don’t remember just where in history that it fits in. I remember once Uncle Lute almost did not make it out of the elevator basement after treating the wheat with cyanide. I just loved to sit and listen to Aunt Georgia and mom talk. Aunt Georgia was so descriptive of every detail to make a good story out of everything.

From Alice: November 05, 2001

Yes, the place just south of the dropping down place was where Ash Roundtree lived back when. Later years it was bought by some of the Hilts and they built it up into a real farm. Back in those pioneer days, it was just a square little house and a barn, maybe a shed or so, and, of course, a Halloween house. I don’t remember a tree. It must be a quarter of a mile at least to the “dropping down” place. Between there is the road to the east. That is where we turned to go to Gramma’s. On that road was the school house where Daddy taught school. Uncle Hurley’s place is in that district too – south part of district – and the Harvey’s. Two sides of our family, the Stafford cousins and Crabtree cousins went there. The Stafford girls had to walk four miles. I can see why they went to St. Francis for one of those early years. I don’t remember which year. I know Margaret came home and said that there was a boy in her class whose name was Blowey. (Wyndon Hurlock). I guess that was only one or two years. Then they did the long walk to and from school to finish 8^th grade. And when Esther was through they moved to Parks for high school.

Earlier than that, some years the Bartletts went there to school, too, but later went to Parks. I wish I could remember when. I do remember hearing that Uncle Jim and Albert Morehouse were in school together – and Aunts Leah, Ruth and Pearl, too. Grandma Bartlett got that house in St. Francis and went in to town for Frances to go to high school. I guess Harry was in 7^th or 8^th grade then. Then, before Frances finish high school, she met Willard Cosby and got married.

--Alice Gregory and Floy Ruggles