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I have been trying to think of things to add to my posts. Some of the things that come to mind are some of the thing we did as my children were at home. Arlo never had time to go with us as we wandered here and there, but we did do a lot of things. We went to Las Alamos several times. One time we went with my sisters and all of the children. There was a crowd of us. We went to see Nona and were in the VW pickup and it broke down. I don't remember how we got home, but Arlo had Tommy Rogers load the pickup on his truck and bring it home. The motor was replaced several times on that vehicle. It also gave us a problem as we drove it home from Los Alamosa. We did get it home that time.

Several times we went to Denver to take Bonnie Lynn for a check up on her ear. I went back to see what I had written about these things and found that I had told most of these things before. I know that as I am getting older it is easy to tell the same story many times, sorry about that. I could erase this but it took time and thought so just read it again. I don't think anybody is reading this much anymore anyway.

It has been fun to watch the great grandchildren come along. Our first great grandchild is Matthew. He is a blessing to us. I don't know the order of the grandchildren, so I need to go to my records to check that out.

Wow, I got comments before I finished the post. I was taking some time to think about the things that happened in those times.

Kent reminded me of the floats we made for the garage. The year that he was talking about was the year that Jack Dempsey came to Manassa. Kent helped me make a whale on the VW pickup. I think I have a picture of it. If I can find it I will put it on the blog. We made the whale out of the pickup and a float on a trailer behind it with a chain and a spear attached in the whale. Diane Luster was riding in the float behind. That was a big job. It was shown on Albuquerque television. It got second prize in the parade. I don't remember how many floats I made, but I did one every year for a time. We lived around the corner from the highway that run through town. The parade started on the West end of town and went the mile to the East end of town. It went through town both directions. So we could watch it twice. Cars were parked on both sides of the streets. The town was full. Many side streets had cars parked and they walked to watch the parade. I think our parades were as good as any small town parade. There were beautiful floats.

Manassa was really busy the year that Jack Dempsey came for the celebration. The 24th of July was a special time in Manassa. We always had two days of celebration. The first day started with a blast of dynamite to wake everyone up. There was a parade both days at 10 o'clock. Some years they had a program about the early days of the town or of the church. A barbecue was served in the cultural hall both days. There was a hamburger stand, a carnival and a rodeo at the fair grounds. The rodeos were pretty professional, with bucking horses, bull riding, calf roping, barrel racing. and other fun things. They had cotton candy and snow cones and other food.

The town became a large place as families had family reunions and people coming to help celebrate. The stores closed for the parade and the rodeo. There were people everywhere.

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I decided to tell some of the things that happened to us through the years.
When Arlo was in the hospital with his back, I went to work at hot lunch in the Manassa grade school. I worked with Maggie Weston. The hot lunch was a great blessing to the children. Our meals were well planned and I learned a lot about planning meals for a big group and how to prepare well. We made our own bread. Maggie mixed most of the dough, but I did it once in a while. We even made the buns for the hamburgers. Once Bruce Jarvies came back 9 times for another hamburger. I often wondered how he held so much. They were sloppy Joe hamburgers and were very tasty. We served as much food as the children wanted as long as it lasted. We cooked beans once a week and we did many good things. The government furnished many good foods for us. We got real butter, turkeys, and many other foods. Our meals were really good. Many times we had leftovers and we took them home. That was a real blessing to us, as Arlo was not working and my pay was small. I worked there for several years. I learned to clean up after doing a job and putting things away when I was through with my job. That is a simple thing, but it has made my life more simple.

When Arlo was able to go to work after his surgery, we bought the home across the road from Maggie. That was our first home that we owned. Things in life happen in small steps. Line upon line. We lived across from Maggie when we bought our first television.

I remember when we lived there Arlo bought a red pickup. I could not drive it in the snow. It took me a long time to be able to drive it on snowy roads. Arlo could get in it and drive very well.

We lived in a house with running water in the house and a bathroom, when we lived in Romeo, That is the first indoor bathroom we had, but when we moved to Manassa, we had a hand pump in the kitchen, but an outhouse. When we moved the our home across from Elma, Arlo installed a bathroom and we then had running water in the house. We did live simple, but I loved my life, eventho you would feel that it was surely awful.

We spent a lot of time in the mountains. Arlo was a fisherman and enjoyed hunting. He took us to the mountains often. I enjoyed that.

James Hazlett Jack and Georgia Ann Horton Jack

James Hazlett Jack was born October 24, 1831 in Knox county, Tennessee, the eighth child of Allen Jack and Elizabeth White McCouley.

Georgia Ann Horton was born May 30, 1841 in Lebanon, De Kalb county, Alabama, the daughter of Preston Betty Horton and Elizabeth Malone. the oldest of 15 children. Her father was very prosperous, and her childhood was a happy one. Her education was complete for that time. One of her teachers was James Hazlett, a mild mannered young man. She married him on July 22, 1858. T

hey had 3 years of real happiness and prosperity. Then came the Civil War. James had seven brothers in the Confederate army, most were officers, but he joined the Union army. Because of his brothers he was not put in the firing lines, but acted as home guard, scout and spy.

One day he was swimming across the river with some papers. His son was on his back hold up the papers. Someone shot James in the back. They were near the shore so he made it and his son helped him. They hid him in the bushes. James told his son to take some papers to James' wife, Georgia as she would know what to do with them. Before daylight, Georgia was back with medicine and food. She hid him a hollow gum tree. He stayed there until he was better, but he was always stooped over for the rest of his life from being crouched over in the gum tree. He was in poor health for the rest of his life.

Mr. Berry was a good friend of Jim's and was also a runner for the Union army. As soon as Jim was able, Mr. Betty helped and they went to a Mormon settlement hiding by day and traveling by night. They then wrote Georgia and Mrs. Berry and told them to come to them. Georgia had a mule and Mrs. Berry had a spring rig. They loaded just what they had to have into it and started out. When they got to the river, the guard wouldn't let them cross until Georgia showed him a letter from Jim. He told them to go back a ways, pretend to camp, feed the children, and put them to bed. In the night, they were to come back and get help from them.

They did as they were instructed. They crossed the river in Chattanooga, Tennessee and proceeded on. As they passed a grove of trees, they heard some soldiers talking about hanging five men. They said Jim Jack was through being a spy, that he was hanging to a tree. Georgia could not go on without knowing for sure. She unhitched the mule and straddled him. She took her old musket and went to the place of hanging. None of the five men was Jim. When she returned to the spring rig, the soldiers had taken everything off the rig and scattered it looking for important papers and other items. Georgia, still astraddle of the old mules said, "I just turned that old musket on those men and made them load everything back on the fig." It was unheard of for women to straddle a horse much less brandish a gun as Georgia had.

When they reached their husbands, thy were destitute for food and somewhere to stay. Their son, Bob, was only 6 or 7 years old and he got a job in a blacksmith shop running the bellows. He stayed with this many years. He learned the blacksmith trade.

After the war, Georgia states that there seemed to be a curse on the land. It didn't produce as it had before.

Elders Morgan and Lisbon brought the Gospel to them. Georgia was ready for baptism right away.

She said, "I don't see how anyone with sense could fail to see the light." Jim was slower to accept the Church but was a staunch Latter Day Saint once he accepted it. It was the final blow to the Jack family when James Hazlett and Georgia Ann joined the LDS Church. It was bad enough for them to join the Union army, to to join the Mormon Church was unforgivable.

In 1879, the James H. Jack family was called by the Church to settle the San Luis Valley. They came to Pueblo, Colorado by train. They stayed for a while, then bought wagons and teams before proceeding on to the valley. They came to the fort at Los Cerritos in April 1879. They had just been in the valley 16 days when their oldest daughter died of pneumonia. She was the first Anglo woman buried in the town of Manassa. Untold hardships were their lot in their new home. They were used to the mild climate of Alabama and Colorado was so cold.

Food was scarce. Flour was sold for 8 a hundred, but Georgia was resourceful and managed to have food when other families were without. She always shared with others.

James Hazlett died May 13 1893 following an operation performed on their kitchen table in the Jack Bend.

Georgia died January 27, 1927 at the age of 87. She was survived by only three of her eleven children.

Simeon Adams Dunn, The Mormons; 100 Years in the San Luis Valley of Colorado; 1883-1983, Compiled and Edited by Carleton Q. Anderson, Betty Shawcroft and Robert Compton, Published by the La Jara Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Adobe Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico

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After Arlo Died, my life changed. I was still working at the Conejos County Library. I worked there for 7 years. The following year I was very busy. I kept myself so busy that I didn't have time to think. in all. I was on four major boards. I was president of the Conejos County Hospital Auxiliary, I was on the board of directors for the building next to the Hospital that was built to house people who were in need of housing where they had help from hospital personal. I was Republican Committee Woman, and I was on the Cemetary Board of Directors and I was also on a group of people from the Alamosa Library, (genealogy).

I stayed home for a year and then moved to Mesa, Arizona. I lived with Georgiana Lillywhite, as a companion. She was 90 years old. I worked there for her for one year. While I was there I was called as an ordinance worker in the Mesa Temple. One day Kent called me and said he needed me to live with him. He and Phyllis had divorced and his life was difficult at the time. I lived with Kent In Colorado Springs for a year. That was a special time. Kent and I had a great time. He met Betty while I was there. We did singles things and he worked at the job he has now, but the company changed. He has been there a long time. I worked for a drapery company. Kent and Betty married on the 30th of January 1987. With their marriage I gained two more grandchildren. Brenda and Eddie. I am glad that they have been a part of my family. Eddie is the first death of the family, other than my husbands.

I moved back to Mesa and lived with LaRue and Harold and with Leon and Jean. I went back to work in the temple. Dottie Vance and I rented a house and shared three different homes in Mesa.

On the 15th of June 1987, Anita was born. in Greenville, Texas, where Larry was working as a civil engineer for an airplane place. I went there and stayed with them to help out with the children. Anita has been special to me ever since and still is. I love her dearly. I pray for her happiness.

On the 8th of August, 1989, John Henry was born. Shandi had been staying with Dottie and me, which she did several Summers, when Bonnie called that John had been born. Bonnie had toxemia and was in serious condition. The doctor sent her to SanDiego hospital by ambulance and they took John early. He only weighed a ltttle over 3 pounds. As soon as he was born, Bonnie was OK. Shandi and I drove to SanDiego in my Honda car, which had no air conditioning. It was a rather hot ride. He was small enough that Emery held him in his hand and he came from Emery's finger tips to his wrist. I have a picture somewhere. You would never know it know it now. He is a big young man.

On the 22 August 1990 I entered the MTC to go to the Washington, Seattle Mission. I served there for one year. I was released on 8th of August 1991 I was in the mission field when Debra was born.

Larry and Jeanette moved from Texas to Denver, where he worked for Martin Marietta. That is where Debra was born, on the first of February 1990. She was a beautiful child. She is a lovely person.

In 1992 I moved to St George. Ina called and said that Henry was seriously sick and she needed help. I left Mesa that day and never returned to Mesa to live. I lived with Ina after Henry died. I met Ward Wilson and we married on the 7th of August 1993, for time only in the St George Temple. On our first anniversary we were in the MTC, going to the Illinois, Chicago Mission. We served there for 14 months. Ward had parkinsons disease and was not able to do the work after that. We were released in October, 1993

On our way home from our mission, we went by to See Kent and Betty, in Longmont and, Larry and Jeanette, in Denver. I remember Ward saying that Debra was the prettiest little girl that he had ever seen.

Our last grandchild, Eric was born in Denver on the 28th of May 1994. That makes 18 grandchildren. That is our heritage. Those who came to our family, hopefully will be ours for all eternity. because all of their families are sealed for eternity and I believe with all my heart that they will all be there, because it it a promise.

TO BE CONTINUED

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in 1981,on 27th of November, Craig was born. Now Larry and Jeanette have two sons. Larry was working at a shop where they make bedroom sets. He was still going to BYU and Jeanette was doing everything she could to help. She baby sat, sold tupperware and whatever she could to help. They were a growing family.

About this time, our bishop called Arlo and me (Gatha) into his office and ask us to go on a mission. Arlo was a little undecided. We didn't have an income to supply the money to pay for our mission and he didn't want anyone else to pay for it. The bishop said the ward would pay for it. He told the bishop that he would let him know on Tuesday following the Sunday when he ask us. I think it was a difficult decision, but he said, "he had expected his children to accept their mission calls and he couldn't tell them that he had turned his call down." He also knew that I wanted to go, so he told the bishop that we would go. We filled out the papers and when we went for our physical, we were told told that his heart was not healthy enough to go. He was sent to Denver, where he had bypass surgery. The doctor told us that his heart was on the verge of a massive heart attack. He had two more surgeries. One of them was to resew his sternem back as the first scar opened. Then he had bypass into his legs. I don't remember how long all of this took us.

Several months before our call, I was working at the Conejos County Library, I was asked if I would be interested in purchasing a Blue Cross and Blue Shield Medical Insurance. I decided to take it. I offered 100% coverage. The agent told me that he didn't know how they could offer me this policy, He worked for them and could only get 90%. This policy paid 100% of the bills for all three surgeries were completed, and when they were over, I was called to the county again and was told that they didn't know how I got that policy. After the time for healing and being ready, Arlo got Social Security, which paid for our mission. It was a time of miracles as far as I am concerned. The Lord made it possible for us to serve a mission. We entered the MTC on the 29th of September 1982, on Arlo, (our grandson)'s 2nd birthday. That night we received a phone call from Larry and Jeanette that Jeanette's father had died.

Our mission was a very special time for Arlo and me. We enjoyed the work and had a good time growing together. We got home on September 10th 1983.

Brian was born while we were on our mission. He was born on the 9th of July 1983. We saw him for the first time when we went to Provo for Thanksgiving.

All of our family went to Provo, to spend Thanksgiving with Larry and Jeanette. That was a special time. Gloria said that Arlo told Donnie how much he loved him. That was a thing that he did very seldom. Talking about his feelings was not easy for him. That was the last time all of us were all together as a family. Arlo died on the 7th of December 1983.

The next Summer Larry and Jeanette and their family came to Manassa, from Provo and spent the summer with me and were a big help to me. Larry built cupboards in my kitchen and it was fun to have the there. I wish I had a better memory.

Monica was born in 1984. She was born in Fallbrook, California. She was a beautiful little girl. Bonnie and Emery now had Shandi, Emery J. and little Monica. She is my eleventh grandchild.

Julie was born the next summer on the 7th of May 1985. Larry and Jeanette had been in school ever since they were married. Now it was time to move on. Jeanette had graduated from BYU earlier and now Larry graduated with a masters degree in civil engineering. They had four children and it was time to find work.

TO BE CONTINUED !

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Bonnie and Emery were married on November 11, 1978 in California. Bonnie had been living with Ina and Henry in California. She met Emery at a singles dance and he began coming to see her and they were married. On 23 August 1979, Shandi was born. I went to California to be with Bonnie and help take care of the baby. She was the first one to be born out of Colorado. Emery was so pleased with Shandi. She was a sweet child and I am so glad that she is my granddaughter.

Larry and Jeanette were married on the 15th of December, 1979. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple. Their wedding was special. They had a reception in Utah and one in Manassa. Jeanette's parents came to colorado and stayed with us for the reception. That was nice.

They were living in Provo, Utah where both of the them attended BYU. until Jeanette graduated. James Arlo was born on 29th of September 1980, in Provo. Arlo is a very special person and I have always admired him. One time I went to Provo and stayed with them for a few days and I pulled him around in the wagon that his dad made for him. He cried when I went home. I have always felt bad that I didn't live closer to all of the grandchildren.

Emery J. was the next grandchild. He was born on the 1st of December 1980. Bonnie and Emery were living in Torrance, California when he was born. Bonnie wanted me to come and help her with Shandi. He was expected so close to Christmas that I tried to talk Arlo into going with me, but he said no, so I said that I wouldn't go and leave him home alone for Christmas. Arlo decided to go with me. That is one of the times that he and I had a wonderful time together. Emery J. came a little early so by the time we got there, he was about 10 days old. We had Christmas with them. Bonnie and Emery took us to San Diego to Sea world and Wild Animal park and to Lancaster to see Ina and Loyd and family. On the way home they drove us to Provo to see Larry and Jeanette and Arlo, who was 3 months old. We flew home from Salt Lake. That was nice to see three of our grandchildren, Shandi, Emery J. and Arlo. Also to spend time with Bonnie and Emery and Larry and Jeanette.

TO BE CONTINUED !