My family knew the Herb Donelys well and I tagged along on a couple of visits but can’t say I knew them. They had a great place and seemed to have a lot of respect from my relatives. It is amazing how little Beulah has changed although my cousin Jay points out the intrusions whenever I stop there (which has been few and far between of late). He seems to feel a little hemmed in from what it was in his free ranging youth. And, my Uncle warned me about not ‘trespassing’ on some of the property we used to cross routinely. So, I guess that tells me there are changes there that can’t necessarily be seen on the surface.

Thanks for your comments.
Dowell

Jerry

This is so good that I don’t even know to comment on it. You were lucky to have known your grandparents so well and learned from them. Of my grandparents, only one was alive when I was born and he died before I was old enough to know him. But you have inspired me to tell some of the things I remember, and some of the stories I was told, of my own parents, who lived “colorful” lives.

One set of my grandchildren live 670 miles away, but I see them four times per year for about a total of 3 weeks. The other set live here in Pueblo, and I try to teach them, without being a teacher, what I know of the natural world. I feel fortunate that they are close.

You have a remarkable memory and you are so willing to share with us your remembrances, thoughts, and feelings, and we thank you for doing so.

Winding down another morning following a sleepless night I thought I’d check out the blog to see if I could catch any good old stories such as you guys used to write. I wasn’t disappointed! You have lived up to your reputation as one of our class’ foremost storytellers.

Now, I shall try once more to block out the pain enough to get an hour or two of sleep while your excellent story/memory runs through my mind. The farmstead, Great grandpa, Grandma on her Indian cycle, your dealing with Elsie and Ada and the horses – they will all play a part in my imagination as I wander through the hills searching for just the right pine tree to star as the primary holiday decoration in my pretend cabin.

I wish that I had been privy to wonderful stories about the elders of the Johnston and Huckleberry clans while I grew up in those families. But, during gatherings of our relatives, children were sent away to play anywhere except where the adults were, and could listen to ‘big people talk’ only if they were clever enough – and brave enough – to sneak quietly through hallways in attempts to hear the secret stories.

Always curious and nosey as a child, I garnered nerve enough to ask questions galore about my relations but the answers were not always forthcoming. Still, through the years I have been able to piece together snippets of information that cause me to believe that my grandparents’ and great-grandparents’ lives were probably similar to those of numerous friends’ families. I do not believe, however, that there was a sage such as your grandfather (spiced up or not) among the old folks I knew. There were, however, numerous musical talents in the mix. Most of the musical folk were celebrated within their communities, and some were national celebrities. Perhaps that is where my recollections should take me.

Thank you for sharing your wonderful memories with us. I know that each of us reading yours has a story to tell. I hope that your kind sharing will spark creative juices the rest of us are sitting on and cause an onslaught of submissions. The offerings needn’t be world-class best sellers; they need only to be from the heart. Like your story is.

Thanks again, Dowell.
Mary Jane