Ben was born in Indian Territory, which when he was about 8 months old became the state of Oklahoma. His parents are linked to him as well as his wife, who is beside him, as she was in marriage for 51 years. His siblings are also linked to him through his parents.
His family moved to California in 1916 and having lost his land in Oklahoma, his father became a share cropper, moving up and down the California coast a great deal. His kid sister, who was born same year of their arrival to CA (and is my mother), said that by the time she was a freshman in High School she had been to over 32 schools, so it is hard to say how much schooling my Uncle had. Just know that their lives were hard.
He married Vera Opal Willis on Nov 28, 1938 in Carson City, Lyon, Nevada. To this union 3 children were born. Son Richard, and twin son and daughter, Dale and Sharon.
Only job I know of that my Uncle did was logging, becoming a Catskinner. How he loved the mountains!
There was a story written about him in the Graeagle, California Newspaper in 1969 that explains what great work he did. This is what was written word for word:
When they write the story of Graeagle-its remarkable transition from-logging town to the beautiful retirement-recreational cortlmunlty of today-the name of Ben "Curley" Barker will rank high on the record book.
Behind the controls of his Caterpillar tractor, Curley Barker built the five Graeagle subdivi¬sions, moving countless tons of earth to put in the 600 lots and eight miles of roadway. He also gets the credit for all the rough work on the Graeagle Meadows tournament golf course, pushing 250,000 yards of Mohawk Valley into place.
Barker's association with the Harvey Wests is a long and happy one. It began in the summer of 1937 when he signed on with the Placerville Lumber Company as a catskinner. The first log sawed by the Placerville firm was dragged out of the woods by Curley Barker. From 1946 to 1952 he was logging superintendent at the company's sawmill at Meyers on Lake Tahoe. He continued as a "alued employee until 1M!!• when the Placerville Lumber Company ceased operation.
When Harvey West formed the Graeagle Land and Water Company and needed a good road builder, he immediately contacted Curley Barker. Barker came to Graeagle in 1959 and has been with the Wests for 10 years.
Today at 62, Barker can still outwork most of the younger men around. He admits he's been "running equipment for 44 years," and is one of the few skinners still working that can remember operating the old 75 horsepower Holts, fore¬runner of today's Caterpillars. And, he proved recently he can still climb and top a 150 foot pine as well as he could 30 years ago.
Curley Barker slightly built with laughing eyes and a weather-beaten face, but a heck of a man when a job needs to be done!
At some point my Uncle Ben added on to he and Vera's home, a new log living room with a stone fireplace (sadly I do not know what year, saw it the first time in 1972), in Loomis, Placer, California, where they always lived. He did it all with no nails. You could see the wood pegs in the flooring. It was a beautiful warm welcoming room, with a large picture window.
I never got to see much of him, but when I did always enjoyed his and Vera's company. As they said he had a weather-beaten face but laughing eyes, but they left out he also a great smile.
He, along with his siblings are all greatly missed.
His family moved to California in 1916 and having lost his land in Oklahoma, his father became a share cropper, moving up and down the California coast a great deal. His kid sister, who was born same year of their arrival to CA (and is my mother), said that by the time she was a freshman in High School she had been to over 32 schools, so it is hard to say how much schooling my Uncle had. Just know that their lives were hard.
He married Vera Opal Willis on Nov 28, 1938 in Carson City, Lyon, Nevada. To this union 3 children were born. Son Richard, and twin son and daughter, Dale and Sharon.
Only job I know of that my Uncle did was logging, becoming a Catskinner. How he loved the mountains!
There was a story written about him in the Graeagle, California Newspaper in 1969 that explains what great work he did. This is what was written word for word:
When they write the story of Graeagle-its remarkable transition from-logging town to the beautiful retirement-recreational cortlmunlty of today-the name of Ben "Curley" Barker will rank high on the record book.
Behind the controls of his Caterpillar tractor, Curley Barker built the five Graeagle subdivi¬sions, moving countless tons of earth to put in the 600 lots and eight miles of roadway. He also gets the credit for all the rough work on the Graeagle Meadows tournament golf course, pushing 250,000 yards of Mohawk Valley into place.
Barker's association with the Harvey Wests is a long and happy one. It began in the summer of 1937 when he signed on with the Placerville Lumber Company as a catskinner. The first log sawed by the Placerville firm was dragged out of the woods by Curley Barker. From 1946 to 1952 he was logging superintendent at the company's sawmill at Meyers on Lake Tahoe. He continued as a "alued employee until 1M!!• when the Placerville Lumber Company ceased operation.
When Harvey West formed the Graeagle Land and Water Company and needed a good road builder, he immediately contacted Curley Barker. Barker came to Graeagle in 1959 and has been with the Wests for 10 years.
Today at 62, Barker can still outwork most of the younger men around. He admits he's been "running equipment for 44 years," and is one of the few skinners still working that can remember operating the old 75 horsepower Holts, fore¬runner of today's Caterpillars. And, he proved recently he can still climb and top a 150 foot pine as well as he could 30 years ago.
Curley Barker slightly built with laughing eyes and a weather-beaten face, but a heck of a man when a job needs to be done!
At some point my Uncle Ben added on to he and Vera's home, a new log living room with a stone fireplace (sadly I do not know what year, saw it the first time in 1972), in Loomis, Placer, California, where they always lived. He did it all with no nails. You could see the wood pegs in the flooring. It was a beautiful warm welcoming room, with a large picture window.
I never got to see much of him, but when I did always enjoyed his and Vera's company. As they said he had a weather-beaten face but laughing eyes, but they left out he also a great smile.
He, along with his siblings are all greatly missed.
Ben was born in Indian Territory, which when he was about 8 months old became the state of Oklahoma. His parents are linked to him as well as his wife, who is beside him, as she was in marriage for 51 years. His siblings are also linked to him through his parents.
His family moved to California in 1916 and having lost his land in Oklahoma, his father became a share cropper, moving up and down the California coast a great deal. His kid sister, who was born same year of their arrival to CA (and is my mother), said that by the time she was a freshman in High School she had been to over 32 schools, so it is hard to say how much schooling my Uncle had. Just know that their lives were hard.
He married Vera Opal Willis on Nov 28, 1938 in Carson City, Lyon, Nevada. To this union 3 children were born. Son Richard, and twin son and daughter, Dale and Sharon.
Only job I know of that my Uncle did was logging, becoming a Catskinner. How he loved the mountains!
There was a story written about him in the Graeagle, California Newspaper in 1969 that explains what great work he did. This is what was written word for word:
When they write the story of Graeagle-its remarkable transition from-logging town to the beautiful retirement-recreational cortlmunlty of today-the name of Ben "Curley" Barker will rank high on the record book.
Behind the controls of his Caterpillar tractor, Curley Barker built the five Graeagle subdivi¬sions, moving countless tons of earth to put in the 600 lots and eight miles of roadway. He also gets the credit for all the rough work on the Graeagle Meadows tournament golf course, pushing 250,000 yards of Mohawk Valley into place.
Barker's association with the Harvey Wests is a long and happy one. It began in the summer of 1937 when he signed on with the Placerville Lumber Company as a catskinner. The first log sawed by the Placerville firm was dragged out of the woods by Curley Barker. From 1946 to 1952 he was logging superintendent at the company's sawmill at Meyers on Lake Tahoe. He continued as a "alued employee until 1M!!• when the Placerville Lumber Company ceased operation.
When Harvey West formed the Graeagle Land and Water Company and needed a good road builder, he immediately contacted Curley Barker. Barker came to Graeagle in 1959 and has been with the Wests for 10 years.
Today at 62, Barker can still outwork most of the younger men around. He admits he's been "running equipment for 44 years," and is one of the few skinners still working that can remember operating the old 75 horsepower Holts, fore¬runner of today's Caterpillars. And, he proved recently he can still climb and top a 150 foot pine as well as he could 30 years ago.
Curley Barker slightly built with laughing eyes and a weather-beaten face, but a heck of a man when a job needs to be done!
At some point my Uncle Ben added on to he and Vera's home, a new log living room with a stone fireplace (sadly I do not know what year, saw it the first time in 1972), in Loomis, Placer, California, where they always lived. He did it all with no nails. You could see the wood pegs in the flooring. It was a beautiful warm welcoming room, with a large picture window.
I never got to see much of him, but when I did always enjoyed his and Vera's company. As they said he had a weather-beaten face but laughing eyes, but they left out he also a great smile.
He, along with his siblings are all greatly missed.
His family moved to California in 1916 and having lost his land in Oklahoma, his father became a share cropper, moving up and down the California coast a great deal. His kid sister, who was born same year of their arrival to CA (and is my mother), said that by the time she was a freshman in High School she had been to over 32 schools, so it is hard to say how much schooling my Uncle had. Just know that their lives were hard.
He married Vera Opal Willis on Nov 28, 1938 in Carson City, Lyon, Nevada. To this union 3 children were born. Son Richard, and twin son and daughter, Dale and Sharon.
Only job I know of that my Uncle did was logging, becoming a Catskinner. How he loved the mountains!
There was a story written about him in the Graeagle, California Newspaper in 1969 that explains what great work he did. This is what was written word for word:
When they write the story of Graeagle-its remarkable transition from-logging town to the beautiful retirement-recreational cortlmunlty of today-the name of Ben "Curley" Barker will rank high on the record book.
Behind the controls of his Caterpillar tractor, Curley Barker built the five Graeagle subdivi¬sions, moving countless tons of earth to put in the 600 lots and eight miles of roadway. He also gets the credit for all the rough work on the Graeagle Meadows tournament golf course, pushing 250,000 yards of Mohawk Valley into place.
Barker's association with the Harvey Wests is a long and happy one. It began in the summer of 1937 when he signed on with the Placerville Lumber Company as a catskinner. The first log sawed by the Placerville firm was dragged out of the woods by Curley Barker. From 1946 to 1952 he was logging superintendent at the company's sawmill at Meyers on Lake Tahoe. He continued as a "alued employee until 1M!!• when the Placerville Lumber Company ceased operation.
When Harvey West formed the Graeagle Land and Water Company and needed a good road builder, he immediately contacted Curley Barker. Barker came to Graeagle in 1959 and has been with the Wests for 10 years.
Today at 62, Barker can still outwork most of the younger men around. He admits he's been "running equipment for 44 years," and is one of the few skinners still working that can remember operating the old 75 horsepower Holts, fore¬runner of today's Caterpillars. And, he proved recently he can still climb and top a 150 foot pine as well as he could 30 years ago.
Curley Barker slightly built with laughing eyes and a weather-beaten face, but a heck of a man when a job needs to be done!
At some point my Uncle Ben added on to he and Vera's home, a new log living room with a stone fireplace (sadly I do not know what year, saw it the first time in 1972), in Loomis, Placer, California, where they always lived. He did it all with no nails. You could see the wood pegs in the flooring. It was a beautiful warm welcoming room, with a large picture window.
I never got to see much of him, but when I did always enjoyed his and Vera's company. As they said he had a weather-beaten face but laughing eyes, but they left out he also a great smile.
He, along with his siblings are all greatly missed.
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