Three Corners is "Home"

The Three Corners area where Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado converge is my "Home".  My great-great grandparents migrated to the northwest corner of Kansas in 1888 and established a farm just south of the Nebraska/Kansas border near Hackberry Creek just about a mile south of the home I grew up in.  One set of great-grandparents settled on the state line just south of Parks, Nebraska. and another arrived in Haigler around 1910 where she operated a hotel and restaurant and he worked in a blacksmith shop.  My roots are in this area.  Our farm was only seven miles southeast of Haigler where we did most of our "trading"; bought groceries at Trembly's; cars and pickups at Stasser's; feed and supplies at the Co-op; welding and repairs at Douglass's shop;  Jim Dexter would pump gas, check oil, wash our windshield for us at the Texaco; took our cream and eggs to Ed Odenbach; stored our frozen fruit and vegetables from our garden at Bob Schorzman's Locker Plant; purchased hardware from Earl Trembly; occasionally have a hamburger or a soda pop at Wheaton's Cafe; go with my dad to Bill Wall's pool hall; stopped in at the Post Office where Bell McGregor would personally wait on us; (use the bathroom at Buck Ryan's Conoco station).  But we went to the BIG towns of St. Francis, Wray and Benkelman for various services not available in Haigler.  St. Francis for "legal" stuff and banking because our farm was located in Cheyenne County; Benkelman to the sale barn, skating rink and church school; Wray to visit grandparents, take piano lessons, swimming lessons and various other needs. Much of the time, we hauled our wheat and corn to the elevator in Parks because they sometimes had the best price and my mom's aunt and uncle owned a store there.  My happy childhood was spent with parents who worked hard and provided a loving and secure home for me and my 4 siblings.  Many happy memories were created within a 25 mile radius around us.  We seldom traveled outside that circle and happily spent time working and playing with relatives who lived nearby or would come to visit from far away places.  

As I get older and look back on all the places I have lived, none bring warmth to my heart and soul like the memories I have of "Home".  I so much appreciate the "Haigler Happenings" section of the Benkelman Post that my aunt Floy sends each week;  I think it is awesome what Stan and LaNeta Carlock and others are doing to preserve the history of the Haigler area with the Cornerstone Museum and what Benkelman is planning in the "Paint Your Town" project.  Preserving the "lifestyle" of this community is an important project.  

~Sherri Gregory
Editor of The Haigler Blog
Host of Genealogy Trails History Group for Dundy County Nebraska