Chart of family in this historyand links to more information about friends
"Mom and Dad lived at Fortune Mine at Big Evans Gulch, where dad was hoist man, when I was born. But I was born at the home of Mrs. Thompson-222 East 5th Street in Leadville. She was a practical nurse. The Doctor was Dr. Sol Kahn. On the day of my christening4 I was carried by my Dad and held by my Godmother-my Aunt Mae and Godfather-Uncle John and christened Hazel Catherine Borah. Aunt Kate was also at the christening. Then the christening party went to Aunt Kate's for a big turkey dinner and the folks stayed at Aunt Kate's for about a week. Aunt Kate lived at Oro. Then across the deep snow, to the horses bellies, back to the Fortune Mine. When I was about 11 months old the Fortune Mine burned and Dad had to look for new work. Mom and Dad moved to Leadville and lived in the 300 block on West 4th Street and Dad went leasing the Little Johnie. He leased for about 9 months and had to give up because he ran out of money. Later John Cordelanie took over the lease and hit it rich and was known as 'The Dogs King'. The folks then moved to about the 200 block on 9th Street and Dad worked at the Yak Tunnel in California Gulch."
"One night my dad was late coming home. I remember we were in the yard watching for him. At work he had an accident. He operated a jack hammer and it hit him in the mouth, knocking out his front teeth. My poor dad's mouth was bleeding, down his shirt. He got cleaned up and caught the #16 train to Leadville. He was back home that next morning. Wasn't too long until we moved to Gilman. While we were gone, some children came in and raided the cupboards."
"I liked this school, but I would cry at night after going to bed, as I missed my mother so very much. Some times one of the nuns would sneak some candy to me. I guess she felt sorry for me. One night one of my friends and me decided we would crawl out the bathroom window and go in the orchard and get some apples. This was in the days when we wore black satin bloomers. So, we loaded our bloomers with apples. On our return we heard a noise, started to run and of course I had to fall down and down came my bloomers, loosing most of my harvest. I grabbed my bloomers, retrieved some of my apples and took off, crawling back into the bathroom. So our friends had apples right off the tree. Then one night, I just had something to tell my friend that was down about four beds. In our dorm there was a bed, night stand, bed, night stand, etc. down the entire room. Each was curtained for privacy. Open them all during the day. So I rolled under the beds and on my return trip a couple girls on the other side of the aisle said my feet kept popping out on my return trip. They thought for sure the nun who was assigned to our dorm was going to catch me, but I made it back just in time. I get a chuckle when I think of my face loaded with freckles and two big braids, one over each shoulder."
"It was quite a job with four children to care for. I had a schedule made out for all household duties, certain days to clean the store, make up lists of groceries to be ordered and to be put away after delivery. Pat was about eleven years old and a wonderful help."
"In the back of the store was our kitchen and a sitting room. In the kitchen, I remember a jar, containing water, that had flecks of "shiny yellow stuff" in it. We were told it was gold dust. Oftentimes, I would shake the jar just to watch the pretty "yellow stuff" float to the bottom. We had a piano in the sitting room. On one memorable occasion, a dog (I don't remember if it was ours or a stray), was running around in a circle. Someone said it was having a "fit". I was told to climb on the top of the piano so the dog couldn't bite me. As you entered the front of the store, off to the right, behind the counter, was our private bathroom, consisting of a commode, and a wash basin. Vividly, I can remember there being a grate, approximately 5 to 7 inches in diameter, imbedded in the front sidewalk. Under the grate was a sewer pipe that had a hole in it. When flushing the toilet, it became a game to run as fast as I could, stand over the grate, and watch the "poop" go by. The bedrooms and a full bath was located upstairs above the store. The only thing I can remember about the upstairs is the long staircase and a fan at the top of the stairs. I was deathly afraid of the fan, as I thought it would suck me in. As a young child, I was subject to nightmares. My mother had to be V E R Y careful what movies she would let me see. NEVER, will I forget the movie, "The Cat and The Canary". My mother mistakenly thought it was about a bird and a cat. WRONG! It was a spine-tingling mystery centered around a castle, a beautiful young woman, and a monster that lived in the bowels of the castle, containing many dark tunnels. In one scene, the beautiful woman was running up a spiral staircase, with the "monster" hot on her trail. Her long gown got caught on the staircase. She grabbed and tugged and tugged at her gown, finally ripping it to free herself. The monster would watch her through the eyes of a portrait hanging on the wall. Another time, the woman thought she heard a noise in the night and sat up in bed to listen. A panel behind her head opened, a hairy hand appeared and as it got close to the back of her head, the woman layed down, the hand withdrew, and the panel silently closed. After the movie, my mother could not get me to sit against a wall. I was convinced the wall would open and the monster's hand would encircle my throat."
"One warm sunny day, using mud and twigs I tried to make a bird's nest. My thinking was, if a bird can do it, so can I! I soon discovered the bird possessed a skill I would never master. Then, I heard a terrible crash! The truck that had just passed our house, collided with a car at the intersection. The driver hadn't closed his sliding door, and when the truck flipped on its side, the driver was thrown under the truck, and crushed. I remember the fire truck coming, and the firemen spraying foam on the pavement. I've never forgotten this odor, it reminds me of death. As the tow truck began pulling the truck upright, the police asked all others to take their children home and all children were to leave. They didn't want us to see the driver. This was one time I didn't like being a kid. When I heard the driver was crushed, I was curious as to what he looked like. I envisioned him "flat" as a pancake, as if a steam-roller had rolled over him. Then, there was the episode of the "scary" man who lived in the house on the corner. He had a lot of loquat trees planted in the "parking strip". All of the children in the neighborhood were afraid of him. We were very daring one day, when some of us climbed his trees to pick his loquats. My brother was in the tree when the man came out holding a BIG knife. I was scared and yelled at my brother Leo to get out of the tree! One day I found a stray kitten. My mother said I couldn't keep it and told me to see if I could find who it belonged to. I went from house to house in the neighborhood. As scared as I was, I rang "the man's" doorbell. When he came to the door, I asked him if the kitty was his. He invited me to sit down on the front porch. I did. I don't remember the details, but I knew something was wrong. I don't remember if he exposed himself, or if he wanted me to touch him. I was scared. When I went home, I told my mother what happened. I guess my parents called the police. All I remember is going for a ride, walking into an office and sitting on the other side of a VERY LARGE desk, and a man was asking me a LOT of questions. I was uncomfortable and had the impression what the man did was nasty."
"Mom and Dad went up to Orick to play Whist and one night they won a small pig. They brought it back and put it into the big chicken pen. One day the pig got out and everyone ran all over the beach trying to catch it-Talk about a greased pig. Daddy finally caught it. They left the pig with the owners when we finally drove home. The town held dances at the grange hall on a Saturday Night and Daddy danced with me. I danced backwards in a one step down the side of the dance floor, we made a complete turn and dance back down the dance floor again. We went blackberry picking all over the area which included a pasture where we had to climb a sty over a fence. We were getting stung all the time by thistles. Mom made delicious cobbler. Y U M ! One day Daddy took us for a ride to Trinidad to get fresh crab. For some reason he pulled over to the right and "stopped" in a drop off the road. We thought we were going to roll down the steep mountain side. We got out and Daddy was able to get the car back on the road. What a scare we had! When the family was to head back home, Daddy, myself and Pat rode in the company truck. Mom, Sonny and Connie and Fluffy rode in the family car. Daddy took the lead. When we came to an area between Eureka and Sacramento, near a lake and in a mountainous area, a tire on the car blew out. Mom said she used a little break to try to slow the car down but not enough to make her spin. Then a little gas to keep it moving in a forward direction. She knew that there was a drop off she had to avoid, but the dust was so heavy that she couldn't see where she was going. When the car finally came to a stop, she found the car had stopped against the cliff wall, the drop-off being on the other side of the road from the direction they were traveling. Daddy had not seen the family car behind us and pulled off the road to wait. When the family car did not catch up with us he turned around to see what had happened to them. Upon arriving at the scene, we found a rather unnerved group. Fluffy was jumping from one passenger to the next to make sure everyone was all right. Sonny's freckles stood out like "shiny pennies". After Mom had a chance to calm down a bit, she got back in the car and drove on to Sacramento where Daddy was to deliver the company truck. No doubt a Guardian Angel sat on Mom's shoulder that day."
"On the day we planned to move, it rained. A friend of my parents owned the moving truck and assumed we wouldn't want to move while it was raining. My mother told him we were moving rain or shine! After the first load was in the house, I begged my mother to let me stay. She was apprehensive about leaving me. I told her I'd keep the doors locked. It wasn't until later I learned she wasn't as concerned about someone coming in as she was about my getting into mischief. After exploring the house, OUR VERY OWN HOME, I started looking for something to do. Part of the first load included a fashionable chrome dinette table with four naugahyde covered chairs. I was with my mother when she bought it and was impressed when the salesman told her the seats were fireproof. Being bored and curious, I found some kitchen matches and decided to test his claim. I put one on the seat and lit it with another. Swoosh! went the match on the seat when it ignited, burning a hole in it. Oh...No!! I'm in BIG trouble. What am I going to tell my mother? What kind of accident can I tell her I had so I wouldn't be punished? My brain was working overtime. I could tell her I struck a match, it flew out of my hand and landed on the seat. Yeah!...that's what I'd tell her. Oh Boy...she wouldn't believe that story!! She'd want to know WHY I was playing with matches. Finally, I figured out I'd better tell the truth. If she knew I was lying, I'd REALLY be punished!! She gave me a good scolding. What a lesson I learned!!"
posted by Regina at 10:14 AM 2 comments