John Brown was born at Chicago, Illinois on October 8 1870. His dad Joseph Brown died from pneumonia after he jumped in Lake Michigan during the great Chicago fire of October 1871. His mother Katherine White was born in Albany, NY on December 22 1856. She remarried to James Foster. They lived in Missouri and moved to Colorado by wagon train in 1896. They settled around Pueblo where Katherine helped to support the family by being a midwife and by telling people's fortunes. She had several people who came regularly to her to have their fortunes told. James Foster was a teamster. He hauled wood to the Pueblo Steel Mills.
Rachel Ross was born on December 4 1874 at Des Moines, Iowa. Her sister Cindy Ross Ainsworth was also born in Des Moines. Rachel's dad was William Ross. Vivian didn't remember much about either of her real parents. He thinks Rachel's mother died in Iowa. William died October 1910 and is buried at Kellyville, Oklahoma. Rachel's stepmother was named Maggie. She used to gather reeds and grasses and used them to make baskets to sell. They called her "Granny Ross."
Rachel and John were married in Missouri, we believe, and then moved to Colorado. The Ross family settled in Oklahoma, for the most part.
Vivian Brown was born August 27 1897 to Rachel and John. He had an older brother Willie who died about the time Vivian was born. Willie was burned real bad when an old stove that John and Rachel were using tipped over. It had one leg broken off and they had ricks under it to hold it up.
The Brown family moved to Pueblo where Harry was born June 8 1900. Then followed Sylvia on June 13, 1902, Della on July 10 1904, Georgia on August 1906, Richard (Dick) on November 11 1908, and Ruth on February 27 1911. All were born in Pueblo except Ruth, who was born in Boone, a small town south of Pueblo. John was employed as a deputy sheriff for Pueblo. He was also an animal warden. Vivian told about the time when one of the livery stables burned down, and his dad had to help haul horses out of town and bury them.
Vivian attended school through the third grade. He then had to quit school and help to support the rest of the family.
The John Brown family, and Granny Ross, moved to the Western slope in 1913. They arrived at Palisade, where they lived by picking fruit and potatoes. Also, in the winter they cut and hauled wood and sold it. One day Vivian and Harry took one of the teams and wagon; they came to Palisades and went up the canyon where Ute water has their filter plant to get a load of wood. They got the wagon stuck and had to ride the horses home. The wagon is still there as far as Vivian knows. His dad was pretty unhappy with them.
The family then moved to the Appleton area. Ruth was 3. They all went to school there except Harry and Vivian, who had to work. Ruth had hurt her leg, and the kids had to carry her everywhere. Mrs. Gigax was Dick and Ruth's teacher. Rachel was working in the canning factory at Appleton. John, Vivian, and Harry worked on the Highline canal when it was built.
In 1916, they moved to Gar Mesa. There were 7 kids in the school at Gar Mesa in 1916 and 1917. Six of them were Brown kids. Ida Ridenaur was their teacher.
Vivian and Harry were working for Bert Mahany at the Don Hitchborns ranch. Thery helped hay and were cowboys. Vivan and Harry worked as cowboys for the Flying W Ranch. They also worked for Bart Owens.
They dug coal out of an old coal mine in Coal Gulch, which they used and also sold. In 1916 and 1917 Rachel carried the mail from Gar Mesa to Fruita. Their dad raised watermelons. Something kept getting into them and eating them. He was real surprised when he found out that it was coyotes. They would only eat the ripe ones.
Whenever they moved, Rachel always had a crate of chickeens and Harry always had crates of rabbits and pigeons.
It was about this time that John abandoned his family and moved back to Pueblo. [Comment: Lola always told me that Rachel kicked John out after she discovered that he raped their daughter Sylvia.] They saw him again about 1926 for a short time, and he wanted them to go back to Pueblo with him, but they refused. He died in Walsenburg on April 24 1942.
Harry was ready to go into the service in 1917, when the war ended. Vivian had been unable to go because of ear trouble.
In 1919 there was a real bad flu epidemic and Harry and Zip almost died with it. They were working at the Flying W Ranch at the time.
Ruth says Vivian was very good to the kids; he was never cross with them. Harry would whip them with willows to make them mind, but Vivian never did. He was protective of them too. Ruth remembers once their dad kicked Della and Vivian almost killed him. Her mother kept telling her dad to leave Viv alone, and her dad replied, "you tell him to let loose of me, he's choking me." Viv was very onert though and like to tease them. Ruth remembers one time Viv got all the kids back in the mine and then blew out the light. Scared the dickens out of them. They used to catch rain in rain barrels. Viv would grab one of the younger kids and dunk them head first in the water. One time to get even with him, the milked a mare they had that had just had a colt. When Viv came in for dinner, they gave him the mare's milk for dinner.
The family was always a close family. They always had lots of fun. They didn't have any bought toys. Ruth says that they rode horses a lot. Harry took some 2 by 4s and some other old boards and made a homemade sled. She remembers they had ice skates too. Ince her mother made them a ball out of old twine. Tom Kelly gave Ruth a little pig that she raised. They wanted to butcher it when it got big, but she cried and cried. Finally, they sold it and bought her a little red wagon. She said she remembers that if the kids weren't nice to her, she wouldn't let them play with her wagon.
They had one horse that they found and rode. It was an Indian pony. Also, they had an old red mule that Della rode. One time the mule ran away with Della and ran up to the edge of the pond and stopped suddenly. Della went flying over its head righ into the pond. They used to catch wild burrows up on the desert by Gar Mesa and ride them. One time the kids went up the creek bed. Then they took Della and buried her to the neck. Then they told her they saw a bobcat up on the edge of the bank. She went sort of crazy, and they had to dig her out.
One time their dad decided to raise some peanuts. The kids were supposed to plant them. The kids ate all the seed peanuts. She says her dad probably wondered why he didn't get any peanuts to come up.
When they lived on Bert Mahany ranch, Mr. Mahany told Dick that he would give him 10 cents for each prarie dog that he could catch, cut the tails off, and bring him the tails. Dick and Ruth were doing really well doing this. So one day Harry ran Dick's traps and cut all the tails off the prarie dogs. When Dick went to run his traps, he couldn't figure out what happened. Harry though it was really funny. He finally gave them the tails. The money they made they gave to their mother.
Viv used to make the younger kids ride the cows when their parents weren't there. Ruth says it's a wonder one of them wasn't hurt. One time, the kids were sleeping outdoors in an old wagon. Viv was trying to get them up, and they wouldn't get up, so he took hold of the wagon tongue and started pulling the wagon towards the wash. Needless to say, they got up in a hurry.
Vivian cooked for a road gang down by Moab, Utah one year. Also he and Harry worked at Cisco, Utah for the Carbon Black Co. It was at this time they became acquianted with Charlie Glass, a well known negro [sic] cowboy that worked for the Turner brothers.
Rachel was sick for about a year after Ruth was born and had to stay in bed. Sylvia was 9 and had to take over most of the cooking, housework, and the care of baby Ruth. Della and Georgia helped. Georgia and Della used to fight a lot. Ruth said Georgia usually started it.
When the kids were older, they loved to dance. They would get together with friends at someone's house and dance all night. There was usually someone around that could play an instrument. Dudley Jerome was really good on the accordian. Vivian played the violin and the accordion by the ear.
One night when they were having a dance at their house, Sylvia, who was expecting a baby, started having labor pains. Rachel sent everybody home. Hazel didn't arrive for about 4 hours, and Harry griped that they had lost 4 hours of good dancing because of her.
Ruth says her mother used to can a lot. One time she had canned some choke cherry juice. Harry and Viv swiped some jars of it and hid them in the attic above the kitchen. They were going to make it into wine. One day, this red stuff started coming through the ceiling. Their mother didn't know what it was. She looked up there and found those jars of wine. She was surely angry with the boys; she didn't allow drinking in her house.
Rachel owned the Fruita Cafe. It used to be located where the Fruita State Bank is now. She owned and operated the cafe for about 2 years. Georgia and Ruth used to help in the cafe. She was also a professional midwife. She worked with Dr. Harry White, a well known Fruita doctor, for many years. Rachel died on May 5 1931 of pneumonia. The boys all three worked hard and gave their mother most of the wages to support the family.
Rachel Ross was born on December 4 1874 at Des Moines, Iowa. Her sister Cindy Ross Ainsworth was also born in Des Moines. Rachel's dad was William Ross. Vivian didn't remember much about either of her real parents. He thinks Rachel's mother died in Iowa. William died October 1910 and is buried at Kellyville, Oklahoma. Rachel's stepmother was named Maggie. She used to gather reeds and grasses and used them to make baskets to sell. They called her "Granny Ross."
Rachel and John were married in Missouri, we believe, and then moved to Colorado. The Ross family settled in Oklahoma, for the most part.
Vivian Brown was born August 27 1897 to Rachel and John. He had an older brother Willie who died about the time Vivian was born. Willie was burned real bad when an old stove that John and Rachel were using tipped over. It had one leg broken off and they had ricks under it to hold it up.
The Brown family moved to Pueblo where Harry was born June 8 1900. Then followed Sylvia on June 13, 1902, Della on July 10 1904, Georgia on August 1906, Richard (Dick) on November 11 1908, and Ruth on February 27 1911. All were born in Pueblo except Ruth, who was born in Boone, a small town south of Pueblo. John was employed as a deputy sheriff for Pueblo. He was also an animal warden. Vivian told about the time when one of the livery stables burned down, and his dad had to help haul horses out of town and bury them.
Vivian attended school through the third grade. He then had to quit school and help to support the rest of the family.
The John Brown family, and Granny Ross, moved to the Western slope in 1913. They arrived at Palisade, where they lived by picking fruit and potatoes. Also, in the winter they cut and hauled wood and sold it. One day Vivian and Harry took one of the teams and wagon; they came to Palisades and went up the canyon where Ute water has their filter plant to get a load of wood. They got the wagon stuck and had to ride the horses home. The wagon is still there as far as Vivian knows. His dad was pretty unhappy with them.
The family then moved to the Appleton area. Ruth was 3. They all went to school there except Harry and Vivian, who had to work. Ruth had hurt her leg, and the kids had to carry her everywhere. Mrs. Gigax was Dick and Ruth's teacher. Rachel was working in the canning factory at Appleton. John, Vivian, and Harry worked on the Highline canal when it was built.
In 1916, they moved to Gar Mesa. There were 7 kids in the school at Gar Mesa in 1916 and 1917. Six of them were Brown kids. Ida Ridenaur was their teacher.
Vivian and Harry were working for Bert Mahany at the Don Hitchborns ranch. Thery helped hay and were cowboys. Vivan and Harry worked as cowboys for the Flying W Ranch. They also worked for Bart Owens.
They dug coal out of an old coal mine in Coal Gulch, which they used and also sold. In 1916 and 1917 Rachel carried the mail from Gar Mesa to Fruita. Their dad raised watermelons. Something kept getting into them and eating them. He was real surprised when he found out that it was coyotes. They would only eat the ripe ones.
Whenever they moved, Rachel always had a crate of chickeens and Harry always had crates of rabbits and pigeons.
It was about this time that John abandoned his family and moved back to Pueblo. [Comment: Lola always told me that Rachel kicked John out after she discovered that he raped their daughter Sylvia.] They saw him again about 1926 for a short time, and he wanted them to go back to Pueblo with him, but they refused. He died in Walsenburg on April 24 1942.
Harry was ready to go into the service in 1917, when the war ended. Vivian had been unable to go because of ear trouble.
In 1919 there was a real bad flu epidemic and Harry and Zip almost died with it. They were working at the Flying W Ranch at the time.
Ruth says Vivian was very good to the kids; he was never cross with them. Harry would whip them with willows to make them mind, but Vivian never did. He was protective of them too. Ruth remembers once their dad kicked Della and Vivian almost killed him. Her mother kept telling her dad to leave Viv alone, and her dad replied, "you tell him to let loose of me, he's choking me." Viv was very onert though and like to tease them. Ruth remembers one time Viv got all the kids back in the mine and then blew out the light. Scared the dickens out of them. They used to catch rain in rain barrels. Viv would grab one of the younger kids and dunk them head first in the water. One time to get even with him, the milked a mare they had that had just had a colt. When Viv came in for dinner, they gave him the mare's milk for dinner.
The family was always a close family. They always had lots of fun. They didn't have any bought toys. Ruth says that they rode horses a lot. Harry took some 2 by 4s and some other old boards and made a homemade sled. She remembers they had ice skates too. Ince her mother made them a ball out of old twine. Tom Kelly gave Ruth a little pig that she raised. They wanted to butcher it when it got big, but she cried and cried. Finally, they sold it and bought her a little red wagon. She said she remembers that if the kids weren't nice to her, she wouldn't let them play with her wagon.
They had one horse that they found and rode. It was an Indian pony. Also, they had an old red mule that Della rode. One time the mule ran away with Della and ran up to the edge of the pond and stopped suddenly. Della went flying over its head righ into the pond. They used to catch wild burrows up on the desert by Gar Mesa and ride them. One time the kids went up the creek bed. Then they took Della and buried her to the neck. Then they told her they saw a bobcat up on the edge of the bank. She went sort of crazy, and they had to dig her out.
One time their dad decided to raise some peanuts. The kids were supposed to plant them. The kids ate all the seed peanuts. She says her dad probably wondered why he didn't get any peanuts to come up.
When they lived on Bert Mahany ranch, Mr. Mahany told Dick that he would give him 10 cents for each prarie dog that he could catch, cut the tails off, and bring him the tails. Dick and Ruth were doing really well doing this. So one day Harry ran Dick's traps and cut all the tails off the prarie dogs. When Dick went to run his traps, he couldn't figure out what happened. Harry though it was really funny. He finally gave them the tails. The money they made they gave to their mother.
Viv used to make the younger kids ride the cows when their parents weren't there. Ruth says it's a wonder one of them wasn't hurt. One time, the kids were sleeping outdoors in an old wagon. Viv was trying to get them up, and they wouldn't get up, so he took hold of the wagon tongue and started pulling the wagon towards the wash. Needless to say, they got up in a hurry.
Vivian cooked for a road gang down by Moab, Utah one year. Also he and Harry worked at Cisco, Utah for the Carbon Black Co. It was at this time they became acquianted with Charlie Glass, a well known negro [sic] cowboy that worked for the Turner brothers.
Rachel was sick for about a year after Ruth was born and had to stay in bed. Sylvia was 9 and had to take over most of the cooking, housework, and the care of baby Ruth. Della and Georgia helped. Georgia and Della used to fight a lot. Ruth said Georgia usually started it.
When the kids were older, they loved to dance. They would get together with friends at someone's house and dance all night. There was usually someone around that could play an instrument. Dudley Jerome was really good on the accordian. Vivian played the violin and the accordion by the ear.
One night when they were having a dance at their house, Sylvia, who was expecting a baby, started having labor pains. Rachel sent everybody home. Hazel didn't arrive for about 4 hours, and Harry griped that they had lost 4 hours of good dancing because of her.
Ruth says her mother used to can a lot. One time she had canned some choke cherry juice. Harry and Viv swiped some jars of it and hid them in the attic above the kitchen. They were going to make it into wine. One day, this red stuff started coming through the ceiling. Their mother didn't know what it was. She looked up there and found those jars of wine. She was surely angry with the boys; she didn't allow drinking in her house.
Rachel owned the Fruita Cafe. It used to be located where the Fruita State Bank is now. She owned and operated the cafe for about 2 years. Georgia and Ruth used to help in the cafe. She was also a professional midwife. She worked with Dr. Harry White, a well known Fruita doctor, for many years. Rachel died on May 5 1931 of pneumonia. The boys all three worked hard and gave their mother most of the wages to support the family.
John Brown was born at Chicago, Illinois on October 8 1870. His dad Joseph Brown died from pneumonia after he jumped in Lake Michigan during the great Chicago fire of October 1871. His mother Katherine White was born in Albany, NY on December 22 1856. She remarried to James Foster. They lived in Missouri and moved to Colorado by wagon train in 1896. They settled around Pueblo where Katherine helped to support the family by being a midwife and by telling people's fortunes. She had several people who came regularly to her to have their fortunes told. James Foster was a teamster. He hauled wood to the Pueblo Steel Mills.
Rachel Ross was born on December 4 1874 at Des Moines, Iowa. Her sister Cindy Ross Ainsworth was also born in Des Moines. Rachel's dad was William Ross. Vivian didn't remember much about either of her real parents. He thinks Rachel's mother died in Iowa. William died October 1910 and is buried at Kellyville, Oklahoma. Rachel's stepmother was named Maggie. She used to gather reeds and grasses and used them to make baskets to sell. They called her "Granny Ross."
Rachel and John were married in Missouri, we believe, and then moved to Colorado. The Ross family settled in Oklahoma, for the most part.
Vivian Brown was born August 27 1897 to Rachel and John. He had an older brother Willie who died about the time Vivian was born. Willie was burned real bad when an old stove that John and Rachel were using tipped over. It had one leg broken off and they had ricks under it to hold it up.
The Brown family moved to Pueblo where Harry was born June 8 1900. Then followed Sylvia on June 13, 1902, Della on July 10 1904, Georgia on August 1906, Richard (Dick) on November 11 1908, and Ruth on February 27 1911. All were born in Pueblo except Ruth, who was born in Boone, a small town south of Pueblo. John was employed as a deputy sheriff for Pueblo. He was also an animal warden. Vivian told about the time when one of the livery stables burned down, and his dad had to help haul horses out of town and bury them.
Vivian attended school through the third grade. He then had to quit school and help to support the rest of the family.
The John Brown family, and Granny Ross, moved to the Western slope in 1913. They arrived at Palisade, where they lived by picking fruit and potatoes. Also, in the winter they cut and hauled wood and sold it. One day Vivian and Harry took one of the teams and wagon; they came to Palisades and went up the canyon where Ute water has their filter plant to get a load of wood. They got the wagon stuck and had to ride the horses home. The wagon is still there as far as Vivian knows. His dad was pretty unhappy with them.
The family then moved to the Appleton area. Ruth was 3. They all went to school there except Harry and Vivian, who had to work. Ruth had hurt her leg, and the kids had to carry her everywhere. Mrs. Gigax was Dick and Ruth's teacher. Rachel was working in the canning factory at Appleton. John, Vivian, and Harry worked on the Highline canal when it was built.
In 1916, they moved to Gar Mesa. There were 7 kids in the school at Gar Mesa in 1916 and 1917. Six of them were Brown kids. Ida Ridenaur was their teacher.
Vivian and Harry were working for Bert Mahany at the Don Hitchborns ranch. Thery helped hay and were cowboys. Vivan and Harry worked as cowboys for the Flying W Ranch. They also worked for Bart Owens.
They dug coal out of an old coal mine in Coal Gulch, which they used and also sold. In 1916 and 1917 Rachel carried the mail from Gar Mesa to Fruita. Their dad raised watermelons. Something kept getting into them and eating them. He was real surprised when he found out that it was coyotes. They would only eat the ripe ones.
Whenever they moved, Rachel always had a crate of chickeens and Harry always had crates of rabbits and pigeons.
It was about this time that John abandoned his family and moved back to Pueblo. [Comment: Lola always told me that Rachel kicked John out after she discovered that he raped their daughter Sylvia.] They saw him again about 1926 for a short time, and he wanted them to go back to Pueblo with him, but they refused. He died in Walsenburg on April 24 1942.
Harry was ready to go into the service in 1917, when the war ended. Vivian had been unable to go because of ear trouble.
In 1919 there was a real bad flu epidemic and Harry and Zip almost died with it. They were working at the Flying W Ranch at the time.
Ruth says Vivian was very good to the kids; he was never cross with them. Harry would whip them with willows to make them mind, but Vivian never did. He was protective of them too. Ruth remembers once their dad kicked Della and Vivian almost killed him. Her mother kept telling her dad to leave Viv alone, and her dad replied, "you tell him to let loose of me, he's choking me." Viv was very onert though and like to tease them. Ruth remembers one time Viv got all the kids back in the mine and then blew out the light. Scared the dickens out of them. They used to catch rain in rain barrels. Viv would grab one of the younger kids and dunk them head first in the water. One time to get even with him, the milked a mare they had that had just had a colt. When Viv came in for dinner, they gave him the mare's milk for dinner.
The family was always a close family. They always had lots of fun. They didn't have any bought toys. Ruth says that they rode horses a lot. Harry took some 2 by 4s and some other old boards and made a homemade sled. She remembers they had ice skates too. Ince her mother made them a ball out of old twine. Tom Kelly gave Ruth a little pig that she raised. They wanted to butcher it when it got big, but she cried and cried. Finally, they sold it and bought her a little red wagon. She said she remembers that if the kids weren't nice to her, she wouldn't let them play with her wagon.
They had one horse that they found and rode. It was an Indian pony. Also, they had an old red mule that Della rode. One time the mule ran away with Della and ran up to the edge of the pond and stopped suddenly. Della went flying over its head righ into the pond. They used to catch wild burrows up on the desert by Gar Mesa and ride them. One time the kids went up the creek bed. Then they took Della and buried her to the neck. Then they told her they saw a bobcat up on the edge of the bank. She went sort of crazy, and they had to dig her out.
One time their dad decided to raise some peanuts. The kids were supposed to plant them. The kids ate all the seed peanuts. She says her dad probably wondered why he didn't get any peanuts to come up.
When they lived on Bert Mahany ranch, Mr. Mahany told Dick that he would give him 10 cents for each prarie dog that he could catch, cut the tails off, and bring him the tails. Dick and Ruth were doing really well doing this. So one day Harry ran Dick's traps and cut all the tails off the prarie dogs. When Dick went to run his traps, he couldn't figure out what happened. Harry though it was really funny. He finally gave them the tails. The money they made they gave to their mother.
Viv used to make the younger kids ride the cows when their parents weren't there. Ruth says it's a wonder one of them wasn't hurt. One time, the kids were sleeping outdoors in an old wagon. Viv was trying to get them up, and they wouldn't get up, so he took hold of the wagon tongue and started pulling the wagon towards the wash. Needless to say, they got up in a hurry.
Vivian cooked for a road gang down by Moab, Utah one year. Also he and Harry worked at Cisco, Utah for the Carbon Black Co. It was at this time they became acquianted with Charlie Glass, a well known negro [sic] cowboy that worked for the Turner brothers.
Rachel was sick for about a year after Ruth was born and had to stay in bed. Sylvia was 9 and had to take over most of the cooking, housework, and the care of baby Ruth. Della and Georgia helped. Georgia and Della used to fight a lot. Ruth said Georgia usually started it.
When the kids were older, they loved to dance. They would get together with friends at someone's house and dance all night. There was usually someone around that could play an instrument. Dudley Jerome was really good on the accordian. Vivian played the violin and the accordion by the ear.
One night when they were having a dance at their house, Sylvia, who was expecting a baby, started having labor pains. Rachel sent everybody home. Hazel didn't arrive for about 4 hours, and Harry griped that they had lost 4 hours of good dancing because of her.
Ruth says her mother used to can a lot. One time she had canned some choke cherry juice. Harry and Viv swiped some jars of it and hid them in the attic above the kitchen. They were going to make it into wine. One day, this red stuff started coming through the ceiling. Their mother didn't know what it was. She looked up there and found those jars of wine. She was surely angry with the boys; she didn't allow drinking in her house.
Rachel owned the Fruita Cafe. It used to be located where the Fruita State Bank is now. She owned and operated the cafe for about 2 years. Georgia and Ruth used to help in the cafe. She was also a professional midwife. She worked with Dr. Harry White, a well known Fruita doctor, for many years. Rachel died on May 5 1931 of pneumonia. The boys all three worked hard and gave their mother most of the wages to support the family.
Rachel Ross was born on December 4 1874 at Des Moines, Iowa. Her sister Cindy Ross Ainsworth was also born in Des Moines. Rachel's dad was William Ross. Vivian didn't remember much about either of her real parents. He thinks Rachel's mother died in Iowa. William died October 1910 and is buried at Kellyville, Oklahoma. Rachel's stepmother was named Maggie. She used to gather reeds and grasses and used them to make baskets to sell. They called her "Granny Ross."
Rachel and John were married in Missouri, we believe, and then moved to Colorado. The Ross family settled in Oklahoma, for the most part.
Vivian Brown was born August 27 1897 to Rachel and John. He had an older brother Willie who died about the time Vivian was born. Willie was burned real bad when an old stove that John and Rachel were using tipped over. It had one leg broken off and they had ricks under it to hold it up.
The Brown family moved to Pueblo where Harry was born June 8 1900. Then followed Sylvia on June 13, 1902, Della on July 10 1904, Georgia on August 1906, Richard (Dick) on November 11 1908, and Ruth on February 27 1911. All were born in Pueblo except Ruth, who was born in Boone, a small town south of Pueblo. John was employed as a deputy sheriff for Pueblo. He was also an animal warden. Vivian told about the time when one of the livery stables burned down, and his dad had to help haul horses out of town and bury them.
Vivian attended school through the third grade. He then had to quit school and help to support the rest of the family.
The John Brown family, and Granny Ross, moved to the Western slope in 1913. They arrived at Palisade, where they lived by picking fruit and potatoes. Also, in the winter they cut and hauled wood and sold it. One day Vivian and Harry took one of the teams and wagon; they came to Palisades and went up the canyon where Ute water has their filter plant to get a load of wood. They got the wagon stuck and had to ride the horses home. The wagon is still there as far as Vivian knows. His dad was pretty unhappy with them.
The family then moved to the Appleton area. Ruth was 3. They all went to school there except Harry and Vivian, who had to work. Ruth had hurt her leg, and the kids had to carry her everywhere. Mrs. Gigax was Dick and Ruth's teacher. Rachel was working in the canning factory at Appleton. John, Vivian, and Harry worked on the Highline canal when it was built.
In 1916, they moved to Gar Mesa. There were 7 kids in the school at Gar Mesa in 1916 and 1917. Six of them were Brown kids. Ida Ridenaur was their teacher.
Vivian and Harry were working for Bert Mahany at the Don Hitchborns ranch. Thery helped hay and were cowboys. Vivan and Harry worked as cowboys for the Flying W Ranch. They also worked for Bart Owens.
They dug coal out of an old coal mine in Coal Gulch, which they used and also sold. In 1916 and 1917 Rachel carried the mail from Gar Mesa to Fruita. Their dad raised watermelons. Something kept getting into them and eating them. He was real surprised when he found out that it was coyotes. They would only eat the ripe ones.
Whenever they moved, Rachel always had a crate of chickeens and Harry always had crates of rabbits and pigeons.
It was about this time that John abandoned his family and moved back to Pueblo. [Comment: Lola always told me that Rachel kicked John out after she discovered that he raped their daughter Sylvia.] They saw him again about 1926 for a short time, and he wanted them to go back to Pueblo with him, but they refused. He died in Walsenburg on April 24 1942.
Harry was ready to go into the service in 1917, when the war ended. Vivian had been unable to go because of ear trouble.
In 1919 there was a real bad flu epidemic and Harry and Zip almost died with it. They were working at the Flying W Ranch at the time.
Ruth says Vivian was very good to the kids; he was never cross with them. Harry would whip them with willows to make them mind, but Vivian never did. He was protective of them too. Ruth remembers once their dad kicked Della and Vivian almost killed him. Her mother kept telling her dad to leave Viv alone, and her dad replied, "you tell him to let loose of me, he's choking me." Viv was very onert though and like to tease them. Ruth remembers one time Viv got all the kids back in the mine and then blew out the light. Scared the dickens out of them. They used to catch rain in rain barrels. Viv would grab one of the younger kids and dunk them head first in the water. One time to get even with him, the milked a mare they had that had just had a colt. When Viv came in for dinner, they gave him the mare's milk for dinner.
The family was always a close family. They always had lots of fun. They didn't have any bought toys. Ruth says that they rode horses a lot. Harry took some 2 by 4s and some other old boards and made a homemade sled. She remembers they had ice skates too. Ince her mother made them a ball out of old twine. Tom Kelly gave Ruth a little pig that she raised. They wanted to butcher it when it got big, but she cried and cried. Finally, they sold it and bought her a little red wagon. She said she remembers that if the kids weren't nice to her, she wouldn't let them play with her wagon.
They had one horse that they found and rode. It was an Indian pony. Also, they had an old red mule that Della rode. One time the mule ran away with Della and ran up to the edge of the pond and stopped suddenly. Della went flying over its head righ into the pond. They used to catch wild burrows up on the desert by Gar Mesa and ride them. One time the kids went up the creek bed. Then they took Della and buried her to the neck. Then they told her they saw a bobcat up on the edge of the bank. She went sort of crazy, and they had to dig her out.
One time their dad decided to raise some peanuts. The kids were supposed to plant them. The kids ate all the seed peanuts. She says her dad probably wondered why he didn't get any peanuts to come up.
When they lived on Bert Mahany ranch, Mr. Mahany told Dick that he would give him 10 cents for each prarie dog that he could catch, cut the tails off, and bring him the tails. Dick and Ruth were doing really well doing this. So one day Harry ran Dick's traps and cut all the tails off the prarie dogs. When Dick went to run his traps, he couldn't figure out what happened. Harry though it was really funny. He finally gave them the tails. The money they made they gave to their mother.
Viv used to make the younger kids ride the cows when their parents weren't there. Ruth says it's a wonder one of them wasn't hurt. One time, the kids were sleeping outdoors in an old wagon. Viv was trying to get them up, and they wouldn't get up, so he took hold of the wagon tongue and started pulling the wagon towards the wash. Needless to say, they got up in a hurry.
Vivian cooked for a road gang down by Moab, Utah one year. Also he and Harry worked at Cisco, Utah for the Carbon Black Co. It was at this time they became acquianted with Charlie Glass, a well known negro [sic] cowboy that worked for the Turner brothers.
Rachel was sick for about a year after Ruth was born and had to stay in bed. Sylvia was 9 and had to take over most of the cooking, housework, and the care of baby Ruth. Della and Georgia helped. Georgia and Della used to fight a lot. Ruth said Georgia usually started it.
When the kids were older, they loved to dance. They would get together with friends at someone's house and dance all night. There was usually someone around that could play an instrument. Dudley Jerome was really good on the accordian. Vivian played the violin and the accordion by the ear.
One night when they were having a dance at their house, Sylvia, who was expecting a baby, started having labor pains. Rachel sent everybody home. Hazel didn't arrive for about 4 hours, and Harry griped that they had lost 4 hours of good dancing because of her.
Ruth says her mother used to can a lot. One time she had canned some choke cherry juice. Harry and Viv swiped some jars of it and hid them in the attic above the kitchen. They were going to make it into wine. One day, this red stuff started coming through the ceiling. Their mother didn't know what it was. She looked up there and found those jars of wine. She was surely angry with the boys; she didn't allow drinking in her house.
Rachel owned the Fruita Cafe. It used to be located where the Fruita State Bank is now. She owned and operated the cafe for about 2 years. Georgia and Ruth used to help in the cafe. She was also a professional midwife. She worked with Dr. Harry White, a well known Fruita doctor, for many years. Rachel died on May 5 1931 of pneumonia. The boys all three worked hard and gave their mother most of the wages to support the family.
Gravesite Details
Buried by the state of Colorado
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
