Editors Note: I’ve often mentioned Jack Ratliff as the other Baca County Wanderer when writing about Orville Ewing. If you search online for Jack Ratliff will also find numerous postcards such as the one below which he sold during his travels. We are fortunate to be able to post the following below from his granddaughter […]
As the dust storms increased many of the farm families and a few of the town residents had to pull up stakes and look for greener pastures. As a kid working around the service station I observed first hand family after family load all their belongings into cars and onto pickups and head out to […]
On Saturday afternoons and evenings there was usually a little more activity in Vilas than other times, unless there was a ball game going on out of town. Farmers would come to town and bring their cans of cream to leave at Tony’s Market and to stock up on groceries for the coming […]
This is the 3rd of posts of Nellie Grover Bamber. It again is a true pleasure and honor to get to post these for my friend Nancy Hall Nelson. The image of Grandma Bamber printed on an early dot matrix printer is a piece of history in itself. The poems? Priceless. In the not so […]
Dad and Uncle Tony always looked forward to a reunion at the Boise City Cemetery of the Havens and Snodgrass clan. Then we went from Boise city to Guymon to place flowers on the grave of the 13 year old sister of my Dad’s and Uncle Tony. She had died during the year the […]
At one time Vilas could boast of a fairly large Hardware and Lumber Yard operated by the Hoarse Retherfords. It was located on the North side of Main Street to the far East. Coming back West was Mr. Wheeler’s Store. I believe there were 2 little houses located to the East side of the […]
In January 1947 I married my high school sweetheart, Marie Konkel, in the Vilas Friends Church. We then moved to Haviland, Kansas where I completed four years of education at Friends Bible College. During the years of my ministry I have served churches in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Iowa, then in 1993 I became Chaplain […]
This post is a true pleasure. There are some little things to look for. The image of Grandma Bamber printed on an early dot matrix printer is a piece of history in itself. The poems? Priceless. In the not so recent past I had a conversation with Nancy Hall Nelson about using her Grandma’s Poems […]
Even though I have spent over 60 years in the ministry, there was little or no place for any church in my early childhood. It wasn’t until we moved from the farm into Vilas that religion played any part in our family life. When I was 10 or 12 years of age there was […]
I read once of a tourist who was traveling through the country and realizing he needed gas he stopped at a very small village to fill up with gas. While the station attendant was filling the car, the tourist noticed there was very little activity going on. Finally, he said to the old gentleman, “Tell […]