A BIT OF COLORADO HISTORY.
. . .
January 14, 2013 at 10:34am
Some of you may be
familiar with Sandra Dallas. She wrote Tall Grass. (about the WW2
Japanese interment camps)
She also wrote one called
PRAYERS FOR SALE, which is not a title that would normally catch my
attention, but I just read it and was delighted to discover that it is
all about Colorado High Country--the area around Breckenridge and set in the
early 30's.
In my family that rings
all kinds of bells as my mother was born andd raised in that high country and
in later years she and my dad retired to the little community of Alma, Colorado
which sits below Mount Bross and overlooks the vast expanse of Colorado's South
Park. My mother taught school in the towns of Dillon, Grant and
Kremmling; neighbors of Breckenridge.
The stories
in this book occur when Colorado was new, and long before Breckenridge became
the ski mecca it now is. The book centers around an accumulation of lore and
stories cleverly woven into a beautiful novel. It is set in the little
town of MIDDLE SWAN, which actually existed in those early days of the dredging
of the SWAN RIVER for gold.
There were
two summers in the late 40's that my parents were invited to be caretakers of a
place known as SWANS NEST. It was a sprawling ranch house, and was
a fisherman's lodge. It stood back high in the trees overlooking the
Swan River, and if you lifted your eyes to the hills the whole TENMILE MOUNTAIN
RANGE astounded your vision.
When I first saw SWANS
NEST I was appalled at the destruction of the surrounding landscape.
The whole riverbed had been disemboweled and the ugly rockpiles left as
evidence.. What had once been a meadowland was now a slag heap, and it
wasn't until I stood on the veranda of SWANS NEST that the vision of the
TENMILE, allowed me to endure what had been done to the SWAN RIVER by greedy
gold seekers.
The stories in this novel
tell in graphic detail the way it was during those gold dredging days--the
endless screeching din of the machinery, the lives lost, the hardships of
living in that high, cold place. It filled in a lot of blanks for me, as
I had often pondered on it as I gazed at what was left of the SWAN RIVER
WETLANDS.
Women
especially had a difficult existence in that high country. At 10,000 feet, just
breathing took extra energy, not to mention childbirth, and the struggles of
everyday living. Living in cabins
of logs with no insulation, no running water, chopping wood for cooking and
heating. .. . . Think about it!
The piecing of
quilts and quilting circles kept these women sane. It explains why many
of the women in my family were quilters.
I have an old log-cabin quilt made by my grandmother-who was
left handed and not a great seamstress. I did not understand her great
passion for quilts. I do now.
SWANS NEST still exists
today. It has been purchased and restored and is now a restaurant resort.
The place was originally built by a wealthy, oversized gentleman who
designed the house to fit his own dimensions. He made extra large
doorways, and spacious rooms and he built every part of it out of California
Redwood. Today the rock piles are gone and new landscaping has hidden
the history of the gold boats and the destruction they left behind.
I hope you will read this
lovely book. Authors who record these stories do a great service. The
history resonates with me because of my Colorado history and family
connections, but it is a window through which anyone can look back and be
reminded of those long gone gold rush days of early Colorado. Lest we
forget!
Betty L. Owen
journals 2013
p.s. This book was a
gift to me from my ex-daughter-in-law, Angela, who knew. . . . . .
CommentShare
Betty L. Owen This was a good book, and I
enjoy reminding myself of it!
October 27, 2013
at 6:50pm · Like
Jack Sanderson I
will find it and read it, our family still wanders those hills.
October 28, 2013
at 4:45am · Like
Barbara Gettman I also want to read
this book. And now it's on my nook so I can!
October 28, 2013 at 6:47am · Like
Write a comment...
A BIT OF COLORADO HISTORY.
. . .
January 14, 2013 at 10:34am
Some of you may be
familiar with Sandra Dallas. She wrote Tall Grass. (about the WW2
Japanese interment camps)
She also wrote one called
PRAYERS FOR SALE, which is not a title that would normally catch my
attention, but I just read it and was delighted to discover that it is
all about Colorado High Country--the area around Breckenridge and set in the
early 30's.
In my family that rings
all kinds of bells as my mother was born andd raised in that high country and
in later years she and my dad retired to the little community of Alma, Colorado
which sits below Mount Bross and overlooks the vast expanse of Colorado's South
Park. My mother taught school in the towns of Dillon, Grant and
Kremmling; neighbors of Breckenridge.
The stories
in this book occur when Colorado was new, and long before Breckenridge became
the ski mecca it now is. The book centers around an accumulation of lore and
stories cleverly woven into a beautiful novel. It is set in the little
town of MIDDLE SWAN, which actually existed in those early days of the dredging
of the SWAN RIVER for gold.
There were
two summers in the late 40's that my parents were invited to be caretakers of a
place known as SWANS NEST. It was a sprawling ranch house, and was
a fisherman's lodge. It stood back high in the trees overlooking the
Swan River, and if you lifted your eyes to the hills the whole TENMILE MOUNTAIN
RANGE astounded your vision.
When I first saw SWANS
NEST I was appalled at the destruction of the surrounding landscape.
The whole riverbed had been disemboweled and the ugly rockpiles left as
evidence.. What had once been a meadowland was now a slag heap, and it
wasn't until I stood on the veranda of SWANS NEST that the vision of the
TENMILE, allowed me to endure what had been done to the SWAN RIVER by greedy
gold seekers.
The stories in this novel
tell in graphic detail the way it was during those gold dredging days--the
endless screeching din of the machinery, the lives lost, the hardships of
living in that high, cold place. It filled in a lot of blanks for me, as
I had often pondered on it as I gazed at what was left of the SWAN RIVER
WETLANDS.
Women
especially had a difficult existence in that high country. At 10,000 feet, just
breathing took extra energy, not to mention childbirth, and the struggles of
everyday living. Living in cabins
of logs with no insulation, no running water, chopping wood for cooking and
heating. .. . . Think about it!
The piecing of
quilts and quilting circles kept these women sane. It explains why many
of the women in my family were quilters.
I have an old log-cabin quilt made by my grandmother-who was
left handed and not a great seamstress. I did not understand her great
passion for quilts. I do now.
SWANS NEST still exists
today. It has been purchased and restored and is now a restaurant resort.
The place was originally built by a wealthy, oversized gentleman who
designed the house to fit his own dimensions. He made extra large
doorways, and spacious rooms and he built every part of it out of California
Redwood. Today the rock piles are gone and new landscaping has hidden
the history of the gold boats and the destruction they left behind.
I hope you will read this
lovely book. Authors who record these stories do a great service. The
history resonates with me because of my Colorado history and family
connections, but it is a window through which anyone can look back and be
reminded of those long gone gold rush days of early Colorado. Lest we
forget!
Betty L. Owen
journals 2013
p.s. This book was a
gift to me from my ex-daughter-in-law, Angela, who knew. . . . . .
CommentShare
Betty L. Owen This was a good book, and I
enjoy reminding myself of it!
October 27, 2013
at 6:50pm · Like
Jack Sanderson I
will find it and read it, our family still wanders those hills.
October 28, 2013
at 4:45am · Like
Barbara Gettman I also want to read
this book. And now it's on my nook so I can!
October 28, 2013 at 6:47am · Like
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