Dear brother

Dear brother,

Oh, how I have admired the growth

Now so apparent in your life!

Nice, sweet, good man.

Indeed, I look up to you.

Eternity seems easier with your example.

Rojo

A tough little scrapper, bright red hair
He and Robert were quite the pair.
Robert was big and Rojo was small
That didn't matter to Rojo at all.
After three broken noses, they cleared the air.

The Model-A

Arlo had a very old Model A,
Sometimes he would pull a hood sleigh.
That old Frankenstein was modified.
And two boys that antique car tried.
To those boys dismay he gave it away!

Bread and Milk

When in my youth I liked one of the simple things in life -- bread and milk. We lived in a rural area where some of the people in our immediate vicinity kept milk cows. The Haslett family had some dairy cows. The Sowards family also had milk cows. Grandpa Dunn had milk cows too.

We would receive milk that we purchased or milk where traded labor instead of money. Kent and Donnie were the ones that did the work the most when we bartered labor for milk. I do remember distinctly having warm milk just after it had come from the cow. A pail of milk would be extracted from the cow and we could keep a portion of the milk. The milk would be strained through a linen cloth. If cream was desired then we would depend on gravity separation of the milk. The milk would be placed in the refrigerator and then the cream would be skimmed from the top.



Baked bread is something that is not done in our home much. When I was younger I remember having fresh home baked bread. My favorite type of bread was a fairly heavy bread. Warm bread with butter and jelly was delicious.



I have had many glasses of milk and bread topped with a bit of sugar. The ritual was to take slices of bread (fresh bread was the best), and break them into bite size morsels. The bread was placed piece by piece into a tall tumbler. On top of the broken bread was placed a spoonful of sugar. The last ingredient was the milk, which was poured into the tumbler until the milk was just at the brim. A long handle spoon was used to extract the savory morsels of sweetened bread. I have not had this for decades, but I still cherish the thought of when we had a ready supply of milk from the cows and fresh baked bread. Now I settle for milk from a plastic jug and cookies that are prepared in a factory in some far away city.

Kent's story - PreSchool

I recently went through an exercise where I made an inventory of my life. Somewhere mixed in the lines of scribbling on the notebook were memories of my childhood mixed with stories I had heard growing up. I had a hard time separating my own memories from what others had said. I think history is like that. What is accepted as historical fact is sometimes a mixture of what happened and the perspective of writer of the history.

My earliest memory that is truly my own is of a day in the nursery in the church house in La Jara, Colorado. I was fascinated by the wonderful toys that held two young boy's interest. Myron and I would gather the colorful cat eye marbles and place them on the top of the wooden jig. It was fascinating to watch the glass orbs as they traversed each runway and dropped to the next level. The rolled back and forth until they dropped out the final runway into a bowl with a wonderful melody of clattering marbles and giggling boys. We would scoop them up and go through the ritual over and over again.

I remember an old tin car. That was worn and rusted. It had pedals in the bottom of it to propel the car forward, but we were too small to reach them. We played on it and pushed one another back and forth.

I remember an old Ice house near La Jara. It was no longer used to store ice, but the building still stood, and in front of it was a one room home. I don't know if we lived there or if we just visited someone who did.

I remember a home called the "Ross House", that had a lilly pond in front of it. My little sister, Bonnie, fell into that pond and nearly drowned. The pond was filled with dirt.

I remember an incident with the thatched room of a potatoe cellar. Donnie and I were going to make a fort in the thatching to play boyhood games. He climbed up first and I followed. He was carrying a manure fork for moving the thatching. A manure fork is similar to a pitch fork, but has wide blades instead of tines. As I climbed to the top of the cellar, I heard Donnie cry out, "Watch out!". I looked up in time to take a glancing blow on the top of my head from the falling fork. Mom cleaned up the wound using a garden hose. The water was cold. I have no permanent scar or disfiguration so the incident was not as important as it seemed to me that day.

We passed many an hour in the fields near our home. We played as cowboys and Indians. We were knights of the round table. We saw ourselves as war heroes and magicians. Our imaginations and our bodies grew, and we enjoyed ourselves.

We moved to a home near Romeo. Dad was working as a ranch hand. That was the year I would have gone to kindergarten, but Romeo had no kindergarten. We continued playing and growing. While we lived here, Donnie and I were given some toys to help us with the jog of growing up. They were fascinating. Each of us received a hatchet and a knife. They were real. They had ivory colored handles. The hatchets had compasses embedded into the handles. They hung from our belts, and we really felt like big kids.

I remember the hatchets and I remember the knives. I don't remember what followed. Mom tells me that we, along with our cousins, went into a granary near the house and tore out the live wiring with our new tools. She tells us that the wiring in the granary was live and that it was a wonder that we were not electrecuted. If there were angels there looking over us, I did not see them. Mom swears that they must have been there.

One morning, I got up and was told that I had a new brother. I don't remember any commotion that night. One day he was not there, and the next day he was.

Dad was hurt at work. As a child, I am sure I didn't understand. I knew that he was taken to the hospital and he wasn't with us any more.

Mom had to go to work and we moved to Manassa to be close to Grandma and Grandpa Dunn. We lived just a block to the west of them on what is now called 3rd Streed. Mom began working in the school lunch system. There was a room in that house that was locked. I think it must have been full of the owner's belongings. My mind imagined all types of things that could be in that room. To the south of the house was an apricot tree. To this day, I enjoy the song, Popcorn popping on the apricot tree.

Family Photos (ca. 1956)

Thanks to Bonnie Lynn Olsen for sharing this image.

Reunion starts with a temple visit

For a long time, Mom (Gatha) has wanted all of her family to go to the temple together. We did that on Thursday, June 12. Mom was pleased to have us all together.

In the photo to the right are Larry and Jeanette Vance, Emery and Bonnie Olsen, Betty and Kent Vance, Donnie and Gloria Vance and seated is Gatha Wilson

The Reunion

We were fortunate to have some time to spend together in Pine Valley, Utah. Momma Gatha has a friend that owns this fine place we stayed for a couple days. We gathered and conversed.



We worked in the projects for the reunion that have been proceeding for the past few months.



We then began to have some fun. We played games -- like this redneck horseshoe game. Balls on a rope were hurled at a stand with three rungs. The lower rung scores three, the middle two, and the top but one. Here Emery shows off his style.



And here is Bonnie holding her cache of blue balls waiting her turn.



We had a jumping good time.



Sometimes I even surprise myself.



Shandi says, "What are you thinking?"



Monica just is happy to be here.



And then there is the good looking brother, Kent.



We enjoyed watching some skits.



Some are less inclined to be photographed.



With some coercion I was able to see most of her face.



Now she thinks it is funny.



And then we see. It was our beautiful Danette. Why be camera shy?



Someone scores a ringer.



YUP, it was me.



Story time.



We had a birthday party. Here Katee is toting her bag on her shoulder.



The store was kept for last. There was a merit system, where each participant was allowed to earn redneck bucks to spend at the store. Here are the hoards descending on the booty.



Aubrey followed her mothers queue of being a bit reluctant to put on her best for a photograph.



But her grandpa, Don, was there at his best.



Then we packed and ...



Said goodbye.

Uncle Keith's funeral

This last weekend as we went to the funeral I was very impressed with the spirit that was there. Not one time did I hear anything negative. Everyone of the kids took part in the funeral service. What a good job they did! It has always been a pleasure to be around Keith and Erma's family. It was so good to meet the grandchildren and great grandchildren of Keith and Erma. Thank you boys for being like your father. No one on this earth cares and loves like he does. I want you to know I love each and everyone one of you. Donnie

Family

It is such a special thing to come to Mom's and get to catch up on the latest additions to the blog.
Perhaps the greatest blessing in my life is my family......immediate and extended. Mom is my star!!! She is one of the greatest examples of Christlike love. She has always displayed a love for others. I remember her and Aunt Elma getting up at a very early hour and going to Blanch Sego's home which was about a block away from our house and spent many hours pulling her weeds and put them in the front of her house to burn. I remember Blanch calling Mom and showing anything but gratitude for their kind act, I told her that I wouldn't spend my time doing things for someone that did not appreciate it. Her response to me was that they didn't do it for praise or appreciation and that there was no end to the good that we could do if we were not concerned about who got the credit. She always could see the good in me even though I felt that there was none.

My best friend, Ramona McGinnis said that Mom was the best person that she had ever met and that she was a great source inspiration to her. Mom taught her to sew, cook and many other skills that I was personally not interested in at that time.

Dad had a big heart, I remember that at Christmas he always bought a gift for the widows that were in our home town; it may have been a box of chocolate covered cherries or a small glass dish, but he had a gentle side. He was a real practical joker, he could dish it out , but he didn't like others to do it to him. He taped my eye lids shut when I was sleeping, painted my face with charcoal when I was asleep and when I sat by him at a meal time he was always hitting my elbow as I took a bite. He had an amazing ability to get close to animals and had them well trained. He would put candy sticks in his shirt pockets and they would find them and eat them. The pony would get his cap by the bill and take it off. His animals loved him. H e also had m well trained, when he came in the house I would take off his shoes, get his paper and retrieve a drink for him.

Donnie, Kent and Larry, do you remember him taking us out to go sledding on the snow packed roads in the winter in the deep hood of an old car. I also remember ice skating on the Conejos River. Dad went in front of us with a scoop shovel and would clear off the ice and probably check if the ice was solid enough to hold us.

Donnie was always so well liked by the people in the valley and I was so proud to have him be my older brother. My children and grandchildren all love him and Gloria so much because thy make them feel like they are each one their favorite.

Kent was one of my best friends and I thought he was truly the best brother in the world. Remember skating at the town pond? We would skate together to "Put You Little Foot", and we would turn and skate the other direction. I thought we were good enough to be part of the"Ice Capades". We played duet at Adam State College, our contribution was "Glow Little Glow Worms". We both took music lessons from Lena Sowards.

Larry was the "Brains " of our family. For some unknown reason, he got my share also. Maybe I traded him for his charm...that is a joke of course.

I adore all of my nieces and nephews and one of my greatest motivating factors is to be eternally linked to each and every one of my family.

I love my children and grandchildren and Emery is my greatest blessing.

Gloria, Betty and Jeantte are the sisters that I wished for from my youth.

-- Bonnie

0ur Family- continued

When we lived in Romeo, where Larry was born, Donnie had rheumatic fever and had St Vitus Dance which caused him to have great tremors. He couldn't hold a spoon. He had a priesthood blessing and was instantly healed of the st vitus dance.

While we lived there Arlo had a pinched nerve in his spine and was in terrible pain. Richard, Arlo's brother and his wife Roxanne and Gerald Lynn came to visit us there. Larry and Gerald Lynn were both blessed at church. When Richard and family left, they took Arlo to Grand Junction to the veterans hospital and left him there. He was there in traction for about a month and then they moved him to Denver, where he had surgery on his back. He was home in about 2 weeks.

While he was in Grand Junction, I moved us to Manassa. In Romeo he had worked for Thales Smith. and the house was no longer available to us. Arlo wasn't very happy about that, but he learned to love Manassa.

Donnie recovered from the rheumatic fever and was active all of his life.

In Romeo is where we lived when the snake bit Kent. Nona and Audrey were at our house when that happened. Calvin must have been with you boys. You were playing in an irrigation ditch which ran through that property. I did't know what kind of snake it was that bit him. We took him to the doctor and he said if it had been a rattle snake it would be swollen. He didn't seem to have any after efects of it.

A True Story

Someone wise recently told me that truth is a relative thing colored by our memories and experiences. This is a true story, or at least some of it is true and some of it has been retold so many times with a little color, that I'm not sure any longer what is truth and what is color.

When I was about a real youngster, my cousins and I wanted to go to the mountains to camp out. Mother had a lot going on and so did Aunt Laura Mitchell, but they put their heads together and came up with a scheme that would allow them to accomplish the things they needed to do and would also offer us the opportunity for a little mountain adventure with a minimum amount of risk. Mom was to take us to the mountains and leave us with camping gear and enough food for two weeks. Aunt Laura was to come and pick us up at the end of the adventure and take us home.

Mom took us to Aspen Glade which was a free camping ground at that time. We found a good camping site near the Conejos River in a small grove of trees and Mom left us with a hug and a kiss. I don't think she even looked back as she disappeared in a cloud of dust as she drove away and left us for our boyish conquest.

The freedom was wonderful. With no parents to tell us what to do and what not to do, we proceeded to do some things that would have gotten us a good licking had Dad known what we were doing. Mitch and Mike and Donnie and I took the air mattresses from the sleeping bags and headed for the top end of the campground. We swam and played and floated down the river on our air mattresses.

The meals for the first part of the week were not memorable. They were the ordinary hamburgers and hot dogs and potato chips and the such. Later in the week, however, the meals were a little more unforgetabble. As our larder diminished, we began suplementing it with what we could "borrow" from other campers who were not careful with their supplies. I remember one day wanting something more exciting to drink that river water. About all we had left was orange kool aid and Karo Syrup. They make a horrible combination. We searched for wild strawberries. I found one or two, but they were so small they were hardly worth the bother! We were able to find quite lots of wild onions. They were small but really packed a wallop and left a horrible odor behind.

Mitch, Mike and Donnie were all older than I. They were having a ball. It wasn't so fun for me after a while. I was hungry. I was tired. I was homesick. One day, while the three of them were of doing boy things, I went for a walk downriver to the ranger station. I tried to be brave and was going to tell the ranger that I wanted to call my Mom to come get us. A huge lump formed in my throat, and the tears began to flow.

The ranger was kind and reassured me that all would be OK. There wasn't a way to call home, but he took me back to the campground in his really official looking truck and wearing his official looking uniform. Somehow, that was reassuring to me.

The Parker family was having a reunion that day. The Ranger talked Bud Parker into giving me a ride home and letting my family know that they needed to come and retrieve their abandoned kids.

Homes we lived in

When Arlo and I were married, we lived in a little house that belonged to Isabel. Isabel was living in Arlene Barber's house for a time. We lived with Grandma Vance for a short time. We lived in 2 rooms that belonged to Charles and June Vance. That is where We lived when Daddy died. That is where we lived when Doris Faye came to live with us.

Before Donnie was born, we moved into a two room house belonging to Ed Guymon. Arlo worked for Ed for several years.We lived there until after Bonnie Lynn was born. Then we moved back to Grandma Vance's house.

Then we moved to a house that belonged to a man named Ross, it was between Sanford and Bountiful Colorado. Arlo worked for a man named Gyling.

Then we moved to the house in Romeo area. That is where we lived when Larry was born. That is where we lived when the snake bit Kent. Arlo worked for Thales Smith on his farm. While we lived there, Donnie had rheumatic fever and Saint Vitus Dance. Arlo had a bad back and went to Grand Junction to a veteran's hospital and was there for two months. Then he was transfered to Denver, where he had surgery on his back.

While he was in the hospital, I moved us to Manassa. We lived in Lucille Jackson's house. When Arlo returned from the hospital, he wasn't able to work for a while. I went to work at the school hot lunch. When Arlo was able to work, he went to work for Boyd Pagett, at his service station. We bought a small house across from Maggie Weston. we lived there for a few years and then sold it and moved into the house on third street. We lived there the remainder of the time we lived in Manassa. That is where we basicly raised our family.

Model 97 62 Winchester .22 Caliber Rifle (without a compass in the stock)

This is a picture of a Model 97 62 Winchester .22 Caliber Rifle. My father's three sons all had a go at this thing. Donnie shot a hole in mom's bed with it. Larry (I) borrowed it without permission.

Larry (that's me) and Tim Haslett were out with the .22 rifle one day (without permission) plunking at things. We went out of town to the southeast.



We shot at rocks and cans and other things. There was a bird up in the tree about 50 feet up. Plunk! The bird rotated around the branch on with it supported itself. I must have hit it.

About that time we noticed a big red truck in the distance. It was my dad in his delivery truck from Conejos County Gas and Oil. Of course he recognized me. He came to inquire as to our activities, but before he could get there I dropped the rifle in the bottom of the dry ditch to try and hide that I had it. I am not sure if he knew I had the rifle or not, he may have known, but he told us to stay out of trouble and told me to get home. I left the rifle there with the intent of coming later to get it.

Irrigation in town is performed by running water through open ditches in town and then backing the water up with small dams or headgates in the ditch. It was somebodies time to water, and water was turned down the ditch. The rifle was still there. I retrieved the rifle, but not before it had developed a irregular coating of redish brown material. It rusted!

I took the rifle home and told my dad what had happened. He did not seem to surprised, and he told me to fix it. I bought some bluing, cleaned the rust, and reconditioned the rifle. I used this rifle extensively after that.

This is what I remember it looked like.



Kent received the rifle. Donnie and I already had our times with it.

Donnie

Donnie and his friends did many things together. These are some of the things that I remember.

Ed, Red, and Fred (Eddie Holland, Donnie Vance, and Freddie Holman) were on the church basketball team. They had uniforms with those names on them and they thought it was cool.

Donnie was nicknamed "Stump". He and his friends had acquired some illicit beverages for boys their age. There was an old apple tree next to the house that had died. The tree was hollow. He placed the stash in the cavity of the tree thinking it was safe. Dad found his cache and decided to get rid of that old stump and set it on fire. The fire was enough to heat the concealed liquid and cause it to burst.

Donnie liked to hunt. One day he was emptying the 22 rifle in our parents' bedroom when a cartridge in the chamber discharged. The bullet went through the bed and into the wood floor.

The Kids

it is a good day in my life

When I get to thinking about life I am grateful for a couple more years. The reason being that all of the Vance name people died before they were 61!!!

Happy ??th, Donnie

I thought of you early this morning, but it slipped my ole mind. It's too late now to call you and sing you happy birthday. You need all the beauty sleep you can get.

Love ya,
Kent

The House on 3rd Street

When we were getting ready to move into the neighborhood on 3rd Street, across from the Pagett residence, we had a bit of cleaning to perform before we could occupy the house. The floors were covered in dust and dirt, windows were broken, there was a large teddybear hanging from a rope in the living room. The house was vacant for some time before Arlo and Gatha arranged to buy the house on time.

I reflect in how industrious my father was in improving the house. He installed plumbing in the house with things he acquired at auctions. He was still working for Boyd Pagett at CCG&O, and had access to some of the tools he used there. He installed a heating stove that used kerosene. He repaired parts of the foundation with flat rocks. He put perlite against the foundation for insulation.

The attic was full of junk. Yes it was junk.

The yard was unimproved, no sidewalks. Dad put in a bridge to allow him to drive into the yard. Dad drove the delivery truck for CCG&O. He used the truck to deliver kerosene to the house and fill the barrels that stood outside the living room window. Sometimes we were required (mostly Kent and Donnie) to lug 10 gallons of kerosene home in 5-gallon cans and then put it in the barrels with a 90 degree funnel. The funnel had a lip that hooked inside the barrel bung and a frame that kept it upright. We had to lift the cans up over our heads and pour the smelly kerosene into the funnel. As the kerosene left the can it sometimes glugged and splashed. With practice it was possible to put some kerosene in the barrels without getting soaked in kerosene.

The apple tree on the south side of the house was where dad tied Thunder. Thunder was dad's hunting dog. The garden was built around the tree and was a family project (mostly mom). We never went hungry. I still like my green vegetables.

In the beginning ...

Mom posted this as a comment, I thought it would have more visibility as a post;

"In 1946, Arlo and I had been married for 4 months, Dad died and Doris Faye came to live with us. In January 1947 Donnie was born. We lived in Ed Guymon's two room house. It was a very cold night. We had the Model A car and we drained the water out of it every night so it wouldn't freeze. It was the middle of the night. Arlo had a hard time pouring water into the radiator because he was so excited. We did get to the Alamosa hospital,where Donnie was born. Arlo was so thrilled with his red headed boy. "

Kent