CHAPTER
IV - THE POULTRY BUSINESS YEARS
The way I remember
it, the Stake President, Ralph B. Keeler, and other stake leaders had
decided the colonies needed additional income. They felt that a poultry
cooperative would help the economy. They sold stock to the people, who
contributed according to their circumstances. They got enough together
to build chicken coops for 5,000 hens, buy an incubator, and get the
plant in operation.
Elbert Miller was
hired to manage the business and get it going. He worked a year or two,
and when he left, he married Ella Romney, so he was really blessed for
having come to Mexico to begin the project. Velan D. Call took over as
manager. Some time thereafter, he died.
Dad and others of
the stake leaders had the idea of offering the business to me, charging
me a low yearly rent. I was to establish the business and then they
would encourage other people to get chickens and organize a
cooperative.
As I remember.
Albert C. Wagner supervised constructing the buildings. They built them
with dirt roofs. They built fireplaces under two of the buildings with
two vents under the floors extending the full length to heat the floors
to serve as brooders for the baby chicks. This worked very well.
The incubator had
the capacity of about 7,200 eggs, as I remember. It was heated by two
coal oil wick burners. The height of the wicks and the intensity of the
flame was controlled by a thermostat that worked fairly well. The eggs
were placed in trays that hung on frames at a 45 degree angle. They had
to be turned manually every four hours or so by turning each rack of
trays from one 45 degree angle to the other. The biggest problem was to
keep the humidity high enough. Air was circulated by two electric fans,
and we had problems when the power failed.
I took over the
poultry plant on January 1, 1940. That morning, Ralph {Molly) Sloan,
who had been hired as temporary manager, showed me the pens of pullets
they were raising, and they had chicken pox. They had not vaccinated
them. Disease and chicken mortality were two of our greatest problems.
We were grateful when vaccines and the sulfa drugs and other medicines
like antibiotics were produced to help control these problems. However,
we always had a high mortality rate.
I learned later
that the coops were infested with chicken ticks everywhere that sucked
blood from the chickens at night and weakened them. At one time, we
took the dirt roofs off and treated all the lumber with an expensive
preservative that killed the ticks. Even this didn't control them. We
also had lice, for which we had to bathe the chickens in an insecticide
solution when they appeared.
Dad took a great
interest in helping me get the business going. He helped me get the
money to finance it, and he would even go over early in the morning and
help feed the chickens. He liked to be personally involved in
interesting projects.
We immediately
started a breeding program to improve egg production. We ordered high
producing stock from the United States, and we began trap-nesting all
the hens to be sure and use the best producers for our breeding stock.
We had some hens that produced 300 eggs in a year. It took one man to
gather the eggs, record the eggs laid, and let the hens out of the trap
nest. Hens always turn around when they get in the nest to lay, and
this knocked the little door closed that we installed in the nests. All
the hens had a numbered band on their right leg. We printed long sheets
holding the record of 125 hens, two to each room, since there were 250
hens in each room. Each sheet recorded the eggs laid during one month.
When we took over,
they were producing dried meat and bone for the protein in the chicken
feed. They dried it in a small oven in one of the rooms. This produced
a disagreeable smell that annoyed the neighbors. We made some cement
slabs out in the yard and tried drying the meat in the sun, which worked
fairly well. Later, Dad bought a steam boiler, and we built a large
brick oven behind the mill to cook and dry the meat and bone scrap.
Even later, we moved this operation out to our brooder plant that we
built out near where the cotton gins are now operating.
We did the country
a great service by buying up thousands of useless horses and burros to
make our meat and bone scrap. Dad got the idea to go up to Pearson to
the old lumber mill and buy one of the grinders used to grind up the
bark slabs which they used in their steam boilers. He had the mill shop
install roller bearings on the big shaft. We used an automobile motor to
run it, and we could throw in a whole quarter of meat and bone at a
time and it ground it up. We cooked it and sun dried it.
When they built the
meat packing plant in Nuevo Casas Grandes, we bought meat and bone
scrap from them. Dad supervised the construction of this plant, and
managed it for a while.
We had to import
all our egg cases (used ones) from El Paso. We also imported vitamins
and medicines.
I remember the
first 500 baby chicks that we imported. I rode out to El Paso with Dad,
picked them up at the airport and took them to the railroad station in
Ciudad Juarez. I caught a ride on a freight train to Dublan, arriving
about 4:00 A.M. Later we imported larger quantities, as many as 3,000,
which we brought in by pickup covered with canvas.
At first, we sold
our eggs to Juan N. Moran in Ciudad Juarez. After a few years, he lent
us a Dodge truck with which to import the things that we needed. We
also used it to unload grain from the train boxcars and do other
hauling. During the first 8 or 9 years, I personally candled all of the
eggs.
The poultry plant
had a little stripped down pickup. It couldn't haul very much of
anything because it had such a small body. It didn't run very well and
we had a lot of trouble with it. One night I had a dream about using
its chassis to make a wagon. We did make a wagon with a hayrack type
bed, which served us very well until we made another from the chassis
of our old yellow Buick. We used a mule and a horse we bought for meat
scrap as a team to pull the wagon. Later, we bought a better team.
The poultry plant
was just east of the Skousen (later Gonzalez) flour mill, and a block
east of the Romney store, that is, it was on the same block as the
mill, which was the block across the railroad track from the store and
leather shop.
I was so busy the
first few months that I didn't go out with girls much. Later, I started
to go with the schoolteachers, and finally went steady with Nelle
Loriene Taylor. We rode horses up the Tinaja to a Mutual camp-out, and
also to Pacheco for a big celebration and rodeo. We went on mountain
trips with the Hatch family and others. During the first months of 1941
we were engaged. Nelle's Dad told me that Nelle would make someone a
very good wife because of her homemaking talents. However, I had
already decided that it was true, so didn't need to be told.
Dad and Mother took
us to Mesa to be married in the Temple. First, the law required us to
have a physical examination and blood test. Then we got the marriage
license. Nelle had a crying spell, and wondered if she should really
get married.
We were married on
September 18, 1941 in the Arizona Temple by Charles V. Pugh. Claudious
Bowman and Loren LeRoy Taylor were the witnesses. When I saw Nelle in
her temple dress, she looked like an angel. I will not try to describe
how I felt at that moment and during the session. When I kissed her over
the altar, I really knew that I was in heaven with my angel. Some of
the Mexico people had a party for us, and we received a few presents,
including some money. Darl and Erma (Farnsworth) Anderson were very
good to us. We also had a reception in Dublan.
I forgot to mention
a trip we took with Grin Romney and his fiancé, Norman. They
came and wanted to go turkey hunting. We went with them to the top of
the mountain. Grin made all the arrangements and got the provisions at
his father's store. The wind blew so badly that it kind of spoiled our
fun. However, Grin and Norma did get a turkey, which they took back to
the States with them. They were married shortly thereafter.
At first, we lived
with Dad and Mother Bowman. We had the big room upstairs. A few months
later, we learned that Edgar Wagner wanted to sell the little home
kitty-cornered across the street from the family home. He offered to
sell it to us in exchange for the lot on the east corner of the street
in front of the Gym. That whole half block belonged to Uncle Thell and
Uncle Henry. I wrote to Aunt Eva and Uncle Thell and offered them a
rather low price for the two lots, and they sold them to me. Uncle
Harvey was helping me get the title. He told me that he wanted the
middle half of both lots. Dad thought we couldn't tell him no, so we
gave them to him. I don't remember whether or not he paid anything for
them. Later, his son Ashton built a nice house on the west half, and I
guess he sold the other half lot. We paid Edgar $150.00 pesos plus the
two half lots facing the Gym.
The house was
small; it had a kitchen, living room, a pantry, and a screen porch
along the west side. I got some tongue and groove half- inch lumber and
lined the lumber walls, filling the space with cottonseed hulls for
insulation. We had windows made of different sizes to fit between the
two-by-fours. We installed a bathroom in the center of the porch, thus
giving us two rooms and the bathroom that also had a toilet. It was
very nice when it was painted and windows installed.
There was a pitcher
hand pump in the kitchen. The well was just outside on the north side.
I made a sink and drain for dishes out of galvanized tin, with a pipe
drain to a pump outside. Thus, we had a way to pump water into the
kitchen until after a few years the well went dry.
We bought a
refrigerator from Uncle Moroni and Aunt Rinda Abegg. Dad ordered a coal
oil stove with adjustable burners. A knob raised the burners up and
down which made the flame high or low. It used asbestos wicks, and also
had a nice oven. It was of white porcelain. I do not remember where we
got the rest of our furniture. I remember that Mother gave us a dining
table. We brought some mattresses in from El Paso when we went out for
baby chicks. Our first children were born in the living room. We had a
bed there where we slept at first.
We bought all our
large items from Zork Hardware, a wholesale company. The mill had an
account there. The company was in El Paso.
We had some
difficulty having children at first. It took us four years to have
Claudius III. Nelle had at least two miscarriages. One of Doc Hatch's
professors, in the Mexican National University, came to the colonies to
go on a hunting trip with him. Doc Hatch arranged for him to examine
Nelle. After he had examined her very well, he prescribed treatment. He
said, "1'11 be up next year for the christening." Sure enough, on the
22 of October 1945, we had Claudius. The doctor did come and see us
that year. He looked at Claudius and said, “The seed is good, now all
he lacks is to have some brothers and sisters."
Claudius was our
pride and joy which, of course, we had to share with the other choice,
extraordinary children as they came along. About that time, I bought a
nice bicycle. While Claudius was still quite young, he used to ride
everywhere with me on a pillow in front. When he was older he helped
doctor the chickens and with other jobs he could handle. He had a happy
childhood.
The girls also
helped vaccinate the young chickens, and debeak them, etc. We had an
electric debeaker. It had a knife that became almost red hot, which was
foot operated so we could hold the young chicken with both hands. It
cut about an eighth of an inch of the upper beak off and cauterized it.
This was to prevent cannibalism. If a flock started to pick the more
timid ones, they would kill many by picking their tail off and the whole
anus. Uncle J once remarked when he saw one, "That one has a funny
aspect."
In 1940, I was set
apart as Scoutmaster. We needed a place to meet, so we got donations
and made a scout house just south of the church house. It had one large
room and three small rooms for storage, etc. It also had a large
fireplace. We roofed it with long pine logs that someone sold us from
the mountains. This was later (much later) torn down. Our favorite
camping spots were at the Stairs or the Piedras Verdes River some
distance west of Colonia Juarez. We would ride horses and load our food
and equipment on pack horses. We also had one trip to the headwaters of
the river near Meadow Valley. We had a great group of boys, many of
whom became bishops, stake presidents, and mission presidents later.
Waldo Call was a Senior Patrol Leader; he later became a General
Authority (one of the Seventies) after serving as President of the
Juarez Stake.
On one trip, we had
been cooking eggs and hotcakes for breakfast. I asked Dale Longhurst
how he was doing. He answered, "My jaws are tired, but they ain't done
much good." One time we were camped at the grove south of the long
lake. I asked David Call to put a kettle of water on the fire. He took
a large kettle of water and poured it on the fire. We had more fun in
our meetings and on camping trips than I could explain even if I wrote
many pages.
I served as
Scoutmaster until December 1944. During this same period, I served as
Stake superintendent of the Y.M.M.I.A. Sister Ella Farnsworth was
President of the Y.W.M.I.A. (Mutual Improvement Association). A. Kenyon
Wagner was Manual Counselor; L. LaSelle Taylor, activity Counselor;
Percy Pratt, Secretary; Rhoda Taylor, Special Interest supervisor;
Bryant R. Clark, Drama Director; E. Herman Hatch, dance; Lucille R.
Taylor, speech; E. Seville Hatch, M Men adviser; and Albert H. Wagner,
Scout Adviser. We also had a great time in these positions.
On October 17,
1941, I was ordained a Seventy by Rufus K. Hardy. The certificate is
signed by Antoine R. Ivins. I was set apart as one of the seven
presidents.
We really worked
hard to make the chicken business somewhat successful. It was not
uncommon to work 14 or 16 hour days, every day of the week. We had many
problems as I mentioned before. We vaccinated all the young pullets for
chicken pox. We had to treat them for coccidiosis. We bathed them for
lice and baby chicken ticks that would stay on them. Chicken ticks were
one of our greatest problems. They lived in every available crack and
it was impossible to kill them all. They multiplied very fast, and they
sucked blood from the chickens and weakened them very noticeably. The
chickens caught colds for which we had to treat them with terramicin or
aureomicin. They also got cholera, especially the pullets we raised as
replacement every year, which was nearly 5,000. We trap nested all the
hens and kept an individual record of each hen's egg production. We
saved the best hens a year for breeding stock, and we bought pedigree
stock almost every year to have good roosters and better hens. We put
roosters with the hens only when we were saving their eggs for hatching.
We had a lot of trouble keeping the humidity high enough, and the
temperature constant enough to get a high percentage of eggs hatched.
There were many
other diseases and problems that I will not take time to explain. We
bought our corn from the campesinos in the mountains of Chihuahua by
the carload. We even bought some from the LeBarons. Dad gave me a piece
of land next to the mill, and we built a feed manufacturing "bodega"
using the west wall of the mill. We also made a shower room for the men
and an office for me.
At first, we mixed
the feed my hand. We bought a stationary John Deere motor, which was
used to run the grinder. We installed conveyors to handle the grain and
put it into four large bins that we built. Later, we bought a new,
larger grinder and a mixer big enough to mix a ton at a time. We also
bought a new John Deere motor.
On December 10,
1944, I was ordained a High Priest by Alma Sonne, a General Authority,
an Apostle or an Assistant. He also set me apart to serve with Bishop
Edgar LeRoy Wagner in the Dublan First Ward. Carl Barton Pratt was the
Second Counselor, and L. LaSelle Taylor ward clerk. Barton Pratt moved
to Arizona in 1945 or 1946, and H. Ashton Longhurst was set apart as
second Counselor.
Since I was the
adviser to the Teachers, I was appointed as Explorer leader. We took a
busload of Scouts and Explorers to Salt Lake City, Utah to the 1947
Centennial Scout Camp. The school authorities gave us permission to use
the school bus. Kenyon Wagner was Scoutmaster, and he went along to
lead the Scouts. I was in charge of the Explorers. Nelle went with us,
and she was indispensable in helping us prepare our food as we traveled
along.
At that time, we
were registered with "Scouts de Mexico." The uniforms were gray, with
short pants and stockings to just below the knee. They were out of
hats, so I called Tony Bentley in Mesa, Arizona, to see if he could get
us hats from B. S. A. He couldn't, so he suggested that we buy the type
of hat the hunters used in Africa, only not made of cork. We had him
buy them for us. He invited us to meet his group at Zions Park and
spend Sunday with them.
When we had
traveled about an hour, Hector Spencer found that he had lost his
wallet. We stopped and looked the bus over well, but didn't find it. We
decided to go back to his home to see if he had left it there. Much
later, we found that one of the boys had stolen it, and had spent the
money. (One of the Mexican boys.)
In New Mexico, the
bus started to miss like the gasoline was clogged up. We stopped at
Globe and had the tank taken off and the gas lines blown out. But that
was not the trouble. It was so hot that the pump was getting vapor
lock. We rigged up a plastic tube so we could pour water from inside
the bus to cool the gas pump, and this worked very well. Wilbur Wagner
drove the bus most of the way. I don't remember who else drove it.
There were over
5,000 scouts in the camp in a field south of the University of Utah,
and west of the "This is the Place Monument." We all attended the
dedication of this monument and heard President J. Reuben Clark give
his wonderful talk on "To Those of the Last Wagon," and the rest of the
inspiring program. I didn't get the uniform pants, so Nelle cut off
some denim pants for me to wear. I did have the shirt and the felt hat.
We marched in the
parade, and the people applauded us.
I forgot to mention
that we did spend Sunday at Zions Park with the Arizona scouts. We held
church services and had a wonderful time. I still have the gold
neckerchief and the tee shirt they gave us. We spent two weeks going and
coming. We visited Grand Canyon, and Bryce National Park. I'm sure that
the boys will never forget this experience. We received the neckerchief
etc. from the Authorities at camp.
Loriene was born on
December 22, 1947, but Nelle enjoyed the trip in spite of her condition.
She visited and stayed at Aunt Rinda Abegg's home. Now we had a
beautiful baby daughter and a little boy. This made us so marvelously
happy.
When we were
celebrating the 24th of July, I believe, one of the girls came and got
Jennie Loriene to play with her. The next thing we knew was that she
had taken her up on a high platform and chair on a hayrack where either
the queen, or Tony Bentley representing Brigham Young had ridden. The
chair fell off, and Loriene went flying through the air and hit the
ground head-first. We heard the commotion and ran over. When we saw
Loriene, her head was mashed and the top of it was pushed away over to
one side. When I saw her, I thought we had lost her. It was a
terrifying sight. We took her to Doctor Salas, but he couldn't do
anything for her except recommend that we put an ice pack on her head.
We took her home and gave her a priesthood blessing after we anointed
her with oil. She didn't cry much, but slept well, and the second
morning her head was back to normal. It was a miracle. You can't
imagine how grateful we were to have received this marvelous blessing.
There were no after effects from this serious injury.
Along in about 1946
or 1947, the incubator malfunctioned and caught on fire. It was burned
beyond repair along with the middle room where we had it. Dad lent me
his carpenter, Manuel Rivas, to rebuild it. We reordered the burners and
water circulation tank, etc. and rebuilt the incubator completely. It
worked about as good as it did previously. However, we needed a larger
incubator now that we had a sale for baby chicks, and so in 1949 we
ordered a modern 20,000 egg incubator from the Buckeye Company. It cost
$1,431.00 dollars, plus the freight and import duties. It had a
separate unit where the chicks hatched. The eggs were transferred to the
hatching unit each week. We set one third of the eggs each week, so it
was full all the time. It gave us a higher percentage of eggs hatched
than the old incubator. When we finally went out of business, I sold it
to Ernest Nielsen Jr. and Maxel Romney. They used it to hatch turkey
eggs. Later they had a fire also and burnt it up. Previously, I had
hatched turkey eggs for them also.
The cost of the
incubator in pesos was $22,500.00, counting the freight, etc.
In 1949, we agreed
that it was time to organize the cooperative. We encouraged many people
to build chicken coops and get chickens. We started out with 28
members, and later built up to about 40. The board of directors made up
the bylaws and rules to govern the cooperative. David S. Brown was
president, and Bryant R. Clark, Ernest D. (Slim) Nielsen and I were
members of the board. I can't remember the names of the other members of
the board. We started out with about 40,000 chickens.
They gave me the
job of making the feed, purchasing it, and storing enough grain to last
a year. Since we had the bodega and big bins, it wasn't much of a
problem to do this. However, it was sometimes a problem to buy enough
grain at a low enough price.
During the time
when cattle could not be shipped to the U.S. because of the epidemic of
hoof and mouth disease, the cattlemen got together and made a meat
packing plant in Nuevo Casas Grandes. They canned the beef and sold it
in the U.S. They produced meat and bone scrap, and we bought it for the
chicken feed. When they went out of business, we bought a feed
concentrate from the Ralston Purina Company in Queretaro. William
Bramble was the man we dealt with. He was very helpful, and he came to
see us quite a number of times. We also bought feed for the baby chicks
from them. It was pelleted and it gave the baby chicks a better start
than our mash. We only fed it for a short time to give them the good
start.
They also gave me
the job of grading, candling, stamping and shipping the eggs. I also
handled the money and paid the members for their eggs twice a month. As
I remember, I was paid one centavo an egg for this service.
I bought a Friden
mechanical calculator for $850 dollars plus the cost of importing it.
The electronic calculators had not been invented at that time. This made
calculating the statements much easier. It worked very well, but had to
be taken out to El Paso occasionally to be serviced. It was too
complicated for me to do it.
We finally got big
enough that we shipped a railroad carload every week, which was 900
cases of 360 eggs each.
We stamped each egg
that we sold with red ink using a little one half inch size stamp with
a chicken in the center and Avicola Colonial, Col. Dublan, Chih. around
the outside. In 1960, we bought the old "Quesera" (cheese factory)
building and moved the egg operation over there. We installed a new
refrigeration unit in the refrigeration room to keep the eggs in better
quality.
We also bought a
machine in Germany that graded the eggs by weight and stamped them
automatically. It came by boat to Tampico and was shipped from there up
to us. It was surprising how well it worked. I found out about this
machine and made all the arrangements to purchase it. We sold it when we
went out of business.
We calculated the
egg price to four numbers to the right of the decimal point, and we
sold the feed at cost to the members. We deducted one cent an egg as
stock in order to increase our capital. We brought many millions of
pesos of income into the colonies. It was a worthwhile enterprise.
With all that I had
to do, you can see why I had to work 14 to 16 hours each day. I
sometimes got behind in paying for the eggs, that is, making the twice
a month statements to the producers. I went over to the poultry plant
late at night to check on our night man and see how the incubator was
functioning.
We bought an
excellent grade of alfalfa hay to put in the chicken mash. Sometimes it
was a problem to find a good enough grade of hay. We found people that
knew where to mine white calcite to feed the chickens to prevent soft
eggshells. After the flour mill burned, around 1950, we took one of the
old roller machines that were used to grind the wheat, and adapted it to
break up the calcite to a small size so the chickens could eat it. We
also put some calcite in the mash. When different ingredients became
scarce, I had to recalculate the feed mixture. We made a good grade of
feed, which permitted the hens to produce from 200 to 300 eggs each per
year.
About in 1953 or
1954, we had a new chicken disease appear. At first we could not
diagnose it, and it killed most of the chickens both young and old.
There was no treatment that would control it. We had a bad time with it
for a couple of years until the pou1try medicine laboratories developed
a vaccine, for which we were very grateful. It almost ruined the
business. It was Newcastle Disease.
We tried raising
the young pullets on the range in an alfalfa patch at the "Riquena"
(Uncle Harvey's farm), and also under the trees at the Taylor-Bowman
orchard. When it rained, the pullets that got wet would act like they
were freezing, and keel over dead. A time or two, so many got wet that
we lost heavily, and we tried taking them down and warming them up in
the incubator. We saved a large number that way. We made roofed
roosting places where they roosted at night and got in the shade to eat
on hot summer days. We lost some to animals also. It was not very
successful, so we built a brooder plant with three large rooms on the
lot Mother gave me that she inherited from Grandfather Robinson. It was
out next to the cotton gins that are there now. I gave the buildings to
Pancho Ramirez when we went on our mission because I didn't have money
to pay him for working for me for so long. I didn't think that Jerald
and Ron would hire him, but they did.
In June 1953, Dad
and Mother were set apart to preside over the Mexican Mission. We took
pictures of the members of the family who were there to see them off at
the Nuevo Casas Grandes airport. At that time we had air service to
Chihuahua and Ciudad Juarez and Mexico City. It was a happy occasion.
The dated entries
are quotations from letters we wrote from that time on.
Dublan, December 26, 1953
Oh, Happy Day! Yes,
that was what Christmas was for this part of the Bowman clan. It began
with the traditional Christmas Eve get together at the Chapel. Old
Santa himself made the customary appearance (after the games for the
children, which were led by Nelle, and the program and singing).
Considering the local influence on his costume, perhaps he was not too
attractive, even though he was a lovable fellow. Roberta and Eric were
frightened at first, but after Santa had given them a popcorn ball, a
sack of candy and nuts, Roberta said enthusiastically, "I like Tanta
Taus."
There were plenty
of toys, clothing, etc. under the Christmas trees at the Dublan Bowman
residences. Conrad, just two months old, noticed the bright colored
lights, but was not too interested in the rattles, etc. brought by
Santa.
At Donn and
Maurine's it was a festive occasion. Maurine was the Martha of the
Occasion. She cooked a big turkey and all the other goodies that go
with it. Wesley and family had a previous invitation from the Memmotts,
but the rest of us all enjoyed being together at the family home, since
they had inherited it. I guess Maurine just naturally fell into
Mother's place for that reason. Dad Taylor and Grandma LaVetta, Sylvia,
Gary, and Jerald Lynn were also with us.
When Nelle was in
bed with the new baby, Maurine took Mother's place, carrying food over
to Nelle and inviting the rest of us over for meals.
We've had real
winter weather, and a partial white Christmas, with the temperature
hovering around zero F. at night.
We bought the old
yellow Buick Century, model 1929, from Albert Wagner about in 1943. It
was fourteen years old when we got it, and we used it until it was 21
years old. We drove it to Utah many times, and to Mexico City. We
completely overhauled it, re-grinding the crankshaft, replacing
bearings and pistons twice. We also replaced many parts from the El
Paso junkyards. We replaced the complete rear axle. We bought it at the
junkyard and they let us work there to put it on the car. This made it
go about ten percent faster than the speedometer registered and gave us
better gas mileage. We really enjoyed this old yellow Buick.
Flora Eileen was
born on July 18, 1950, at home with Sister Mariah Hardy in attendance
and also Dr. Hatch. She brought great joy and happiness into our lives.
She was a beautiful baby, and she became a very beautiful girl as she
grew up. She developed a wonderful personality and character. She has
the gift of music, playing the piano extraordinarily well. She
accompanied the school operettas and other programs.
Roberta was born on
September 4, 1951, also at home under the same conditions as Eileen. We
have such beautiful daughters. We wish we could have had more children
because they are so talented and good. Each of our children added to our
happiness and joy. As the doctor said, "La semilla es muy buena." (The
seed is very good.) I guess it is not necessary to brag on our children
at this time; they all know how proud we are of them and how much we
love them. We have had many lovely and priceless vicarious experiences
because of their successes and accomplishments.
After having served
as a counselor in the Dublan First Ward Bishopric with Edgar LeRoy
Wagner, we were released on July 19, 1953. A short time later, I was
set apart as a high counselor. My assignment was to be chairman of the
Stake Genealogical Committee. LeRoy Johnson was first counselor and
Gustavo Brown second. Gladys Kotter Wagner, Edgar's second wife, was
our secretary, and she did a great job. We held Stake meetings at least
monthly, and held training sessions in all the Wards to get the people
interested and busy at their family records. During this same period, I
served as Ward Genealogical Chairman also. I was released from the Stake
position in June 1955, and was assigned to be chairman of the stake
ward teaching committee.
In July 1953, the
Officina de Hacienda (Federal Tax Office) in Torreon informed me that I
must present my books for an audit. At that time, Maybeth and Loaz and
their two adopted children were visiting with us. They were on their way
to tour Mexico, and they invited me to travel to Torreon with them.
They also invited me to go on the tour with them. They waited while I
did my business in Torreon, and I weakened and went with them. It was a
great trip. They were interested in seeing the things that tourists
rarely see. We went to the opera at the Palacio de Bellas Artes. We
traveled quite extensively in southern Mexico, including Puebla, and we
stopped in the little pueblos to see how the people lived. They carried
lunch materials along, and we would stop when hungry and eat. We also
visited Dad and Mother at the Mission Home in Mexico City. This was a
wonderful experience.
Conrad LeRoy was
born on October 16, 1953. It was a great joy to have another son. We
enjoyed him very much as he was growing up. He was very interested in
all kinds of machinery. He rode the grading machines while they were
building the highway in front of our house, and he would sit on a
tractor and play like he was driving it for hours. We confirmed
Claudius and blessed Conrad in the same meeting.
January 6, 1954.
Emilio Burgos had invited Keith to his ranch for a deer hunt, so Keith
invited his brothers to go along. Unfortunately, I was the only one who
could go with him. The Burgos ranch is on the Gavilan west of the Blue.
Much of the country is straight up and down, but it is very beautiful,
and there is as much game there as any place in the hills now.
Since there has
been so much logging, the hunting is not what it used to be. But we
were lucky. The first morning we walked out from the ranch house while
waiting for the vaqueros to round up more horses and mules, and I had
the good luck to get a two-point buck. This gave us meat to eat while
on the trip. That afternoon, we saddled and packed up and went to camp
near the Carrizo toward the Blue, just at the end of those long ridges.
The next day, everyone but me saw some big bucks, but didn't get a shot
at them. However, I got right in the middle of a large flock of
turkeys. I must have been very excited, because I couldn't hit them.
The next day,
Keith, Emilio and I were hunting together. Keith had the good fortune
to get a young buck and a four-point within a few minutes of each
other.
On the way back to
the ranch, I had not seen any bucks, so was plenty anxious. On the high
ridge in sight of the ranch house, Keith and Emilio were a little ahead
of me. I stopped overlooking a beautiful little cove. Sure enough, a big
four-point walked out into the open and stopped. I was in a hurry
because I thought the others might scare him, and was probably a little
over anxious. My shot paunched him. We followed him for a long way, and
found his entrails on a bush and a trail of blood. The trail gave out,
and the hill was so steep that we didn't go down that way. We didn't
find the deer. Keith told me that the vaqueros found him at the bottom
of the canyon later. On the way down we saw a small buck. He ran while I
was getting my gun out, but stopped and gave me a good shot. I missed.
Then we saw a big fellow, but by then, it was so dark that I couldn't
see the sights, and he walked away. It was really a fun trip.
Well, Nelle thought
that if I could take a vacation so could she. Her father was going to
Chihuahua to see the J.S.A. team play basketball, so she went along to
visit with Hannah. She took the baby, but left the other four with me.
We have started the incubator, so will have lots of babies soon.
February 16, 1954.
A couple of weeks ago, Wesley invited me to sing at the weekly
missionary meeting for investigators. They fill the Relief Society room
completely. 1 sang "The Lord's Prayer" in Spanish. Then President
Whetten and Ben invited me to go to Colonia Juarez and sing the same
number and preach to their investigator. I very much enjoyed it. I spoke
to them about the mission of Elijah in the restoration, and the work
for the dead. They filled the tithing office completely. It seems that
missionary work in the stake is really taking hold.
We have lots of
opportunities to participate. I sang a solo last night in Mutual. Sister
Call selected the number, "Always."
Time gets away from
me so fast. Nelle said that Richard Evans spoke directly to me when he
said, "It is easier to keep up than catch up." I will try to do better.
There is always plenty to do. We have the incubator going to capacity.
We have already hatched about 8,000 chicks, and have about 6,000 in the
rearing pens. Keith is getting ready to brood some chicks also.
We will plan to
send you some eggs. We thrill with you in your happy experiences. The
trip with Elder Hunter must have been very enjoyable, even if rather
strenuous. We were also with you in spirit during President McKay's
visit.
March 8, 1954:
Thank you, Mother, for all that you did for me in 1912, and on March 8,
1913, and also all that you have done since. No one could ask for a
sweeter or better Mother.
Two score and one
year ago my father and mother brought forth upon this continent an
infant boy {I guess we don't need to go into the details of "conceived
in liberty and dedicated to what proposition"). Now we are engaged in
an effort to see if this part of their family will long endure
{eternally). We have come to "carry on" for those who here gave their
lives that this family might live {and that more abundantly). It is
altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger
sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this
place. Our brave parents who struggled here, have consecrated it far
beyond our power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long
remember, what we say here, but will never forget what they did here.
It is for us, the children, rather to be dedicated to the unfinished
work that they have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to
be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us-- that from
these honored parents we take increased devotion to that cause for
which they are giving the full measure of devotion--that we here
resolve that these parents shall not have labored in vain--that this
family, under God, shall have a new birth of happiness--and that the
salvation of the family, by the family, and for the family shall long
endure in the Celestial Kingdom.
May 10, 1954:
Saturday afternoon the new gymnasium burned up. It is a helpless
feeling (like it was with the mill) to see all that value, time,
effort, and dreams going up in smoke and not being able to stop it. If
we had been able to get to the fire with a hose full of water when we
first saw it, we could have saved it. We were sitting in the car at the
chapel waiting to attend the funeral of Elmer Thayne's son Albert, who
had been shot five times by Pancho Villa (who lived in Pacheco).
Loriene and Jeannette came up. They wanted to go over and see the dust
coming out of the gym. We looked, and smoke was pouring out of the
roof. Nelle ran up and told the people who were waiting in the chapel,
and you never saw such a scramble. The pump at the schoolhouse was
broken. Chato tried to go into the gym, but it was so full of smoke and
so hot no one could stand to go in. Gandaras brought extinguishers and
they got the ones from the church house, but it was impossible to get
at the fire on the roof. Then the big balcony windows exploded out, and
we had a raging inferno.
Merriner brought
his tractor and made a ditch from Uncle Elmo's pump across the street
to the west. They formed a bucket brigade and were able to save the
furnace room. LaSelle and Bishop Wagner were watching their homes
because live coals were going clear over there. We were also watching
the Scout house and the chapel. The walls, steel windows, doors and the
plumbing were saved, but the big steel beams were warped and bent. The
Church will finance building it again. It is supposed that a spark from
the welding they had been doing under the roof smoldered and burst into
flame later. They had been using an extra piece of celotex under the
welding and it was not burned.
Claudius III came
home from the fire and wrote a letter to his Grandfather. He said, "I
don't want Grandpa to feel bad, so I'll tell him about it."
Later: I see Aunt
Lucille is home this morning. She and Ben and Doc. Hatch took little
Cheryl to El Paso. She had fallen from a tractor that she and other
girls were riding with George Turley, and was run over. The tractor ran
across her chest injuring her lungs, cracking a collarbone, and forcing
blood into her head and eyes with such force that the eyes hemorrhaged
and made her temporarily blind. Uncle Alvin Coon said that she was much
improved, and that her vision seems to be returning.
May 26, 1954: Donn
is president of the Alumni this year. He and his co-workers are busy
getting ready for the annual alumni festivities tomorrow. Eighth grade
graduation in Dublan is tonight. Nelle is the main speaker. She is
planning something different in graduation speeches. Along with her sage
advice to the graduates, she is going to see if they can reach success
in a game she has made up on the order of Parcheesi. The kids will
answer questions (jokes and riddles) to move ahead on the squares. She
has given them the answers so they will be smart. She started these
kids in the first grade.
We have all been
praying for Sylvia Lunt. She has a bad case of Brights disease. Dr.
Hatch has the folk very much afraid that she will not survive. This
disease killed the little Fenn boy a few years ago, and doesn't seem to
have a cure after it becomes chronic.
June 17, 1954 Doc
Hatch and Marza went to the June Conference at Salt Lake City, hoping
that they could bring Sylvia home with them. On Saturday before fast
day the doctor had told her that she would not be able to come home for
at least three weeks. After we all prayed for her on fast day, the
doctor told her that she had improved marvelously and could come home
right away. So she did come with the Hatches. She is still staying in
bed, however.
July 29, 1954: The
bishopric released the gym building committee with appropriate praises
and thanks for Dad's services. (Dad was in charge of building the gym,
and spent a good share of his time there while it was being built. He
did a great deal of the work.) They also organized another committee to
start preparations for rebuilding it. Gayle Bluth is to be in charge of
straightening the beams and putting on the roof. (Bill Borsig, an
engineer who is working for Luis Blanco, and living with Kenyon and
Leona Wagner, says he has experience in this kind of work, and offered
to help.) Ashton Longhurst is chairman; Dan Taylor is to be in charge of
the electrical installation; Donn Bowman, the plumbing and finishing;
Ruben Flores and Roberto are to keep track of the materials; and Arnold
Call to be bookkeeper and timekeeper.
August 17, 1954:
Claudius and Loriene went with Keith's kids out to the ranch last week
to ride horses. They each had a horse. Loriene and Mary decided that
they would gallop. Loriene started coming down on one side a little
farther each time until she fell off. The bump made her very sick for a
while, but did not hurt her permanently. She needs to ride more before
she tries to go so fast. Claudius and Keith LaRae are quite the
cowboys.
For a while there
we had more horses than we needed for chicken feed, so we asked Uncle
Harvey to let us put some on the ranch. One of the mares had a little
pinto colt in the meantime. We are raising him so we will have a pony
for the kids to ride. He is now a yearling and a little more, and we
have played with him until he is really gentle.
(When Pinto grew up
he was a rather small pony. We gave him to Claudius for Christmas one
year along with a boy-size saddle made by Uncle Alvin in the Romney
leather shop. We used him quite a few years, and the kids enjoyed him a
lot. One day when he was loose on the ranch, he was bitten by a
rattlesnake on the nose, and it killed him.)
We also kept
another horse that was quite large to ride, and we put our packs on him
a number of times on scout trips. There are pictures of these horses in
our albums. We also kept a sorrel horse that we used and another to make
a team to pull our wagon. One time the sorrel horse fell down the well.
We rigged up a tripod and pulleys to get him out. I went down the well
to put a rope around him to pull him out. He had exhausted the oxygen
to the point that it made me dizzy, but I finally got it around him and
we got him out.
Nelle has been
putting up corn from our garden, and also fruit. She has about 90
quarts of corn, besides what we have given away, and almost that many
of peaches. Today, Keith sent over some string beans, so Nelle had to
bottle them and couldn't attend the sewing and craft meeting the ladies
have every week.
September 2, 1954:
We went to El Paso for some things that we needed. We have to overhaul
the Yellow Buick, so I spent the day at junkyards looking up parts.
They loaded me down with parts for $15.00 dollars, but it cost a lot
more for bearings and piston rings, etc. We hope the Buick will last
until we get out of debt.
October 11, 1954:
Dr. Norris E. Bradbury and his son John arrived to go with us on a pack
trip into the mountains. Of course, I was not ready--we were taking
inventory for the Poultry Cooperative and I had the egg-feed statements
to get out. That evening, Marshall Bond, from Santa Barbara, California
also arrived by plane. They helped us get ready, and they had a good
time while waiting. They went to the ranch with Keith to brand some
calves, and in the afternoon went to see the Memmott's collection of
Indian artifacts and ollas. (They really had a great collection.)
Wednesday morning we went to Colonia Juarez on my poultry business, and
to see if Bryant Clark and Mennell were planning to go with us. Bryant
was sick with a sort of nervous breakdown or nervous indigestion. We
twisted his arm, and he decided to go. Mennell couldn't go, but he
kindly offered to lend us his pickup. By late afternoon we got
everything together, called for Bryant and went as far as Red rock to
camp. In Juarez, Bradbury remembered that Nelle had put out margarine in
the frig so it wouldn't melt, so we went to the store and bought some
more.
The next morning we
arrived at the ridge above the Burgos ranch before noon. Keith had gone
up the week before, taking his mule "Chihuahua." It took him most of the
week because his truck broke down. We found that the "vaqueros" had
left old Chihuahua and two other horses there for us. It takes about an
hour and a half to go down the steep ridge from the trucks to the ranch
house.
On Friday, Keith
went riding with Don Pancho, the ranch caporal, and he killed a nice
two-point buck. They also brought the rest of our stuff down from the
trucks. The Bradburys went to an Indian ruin to dig for ollas, without
finding any. Bryant, Marshall and I rode over to trout creek to try the
fishing. It was not good, but we did catch enough for a meal between us.
I caught a lot of bony tails, which I threw away. On the way back, we
saw some turkeys, but when I am excited I find that I am not too good a
shot.
On Saturday we went
to the "Casa Blanca," a large rock house Indian dwelling to dig for
ollas. It is west of the ranch. We didn't find any. On Sunday, "blessed
rest" a shave and bath in the Gavilan, and our friends led us into a
religious discussion. By that time we had them taking their turn at our
"family prayers."
On Monday the
vaqueros helped us pack the five mules, and two of them went with us to
the west. A day and a half took us to the Cerro del Tabaco, where we
found a series of cave dwellings, which is what our visitors were
interested in. We found that Herman Hatch had taken some archaeologists
from the University of Colorado there last year. They enjoyed studying
them anyway.
The next morning,
Keith and I went up the high hill hunting at daylight. "Sudamos la gota
gorda", that is, really worked up a sweat, but we did find a nice buck.
I saw him first and got the first shot. He was standing at a 45-degree
angle away from me. I jerked the shot and hit him just below and left of
his tail. Then he and two others ran across the canyon. Keith joined me
then, and he said, "Look, there come two spotted wolves." Pancho had
told him he found a litter of spotted wolves that might have been part
dog. I shot at the deer again, but didn't raise my sights enough to
compensate for the distance and probably broke his front foot. The
"wolves" went for the deer and he ran down to a little creek and got in
the water so they could not bite his wound. When we got there we found
that they were dogs. I should have said that Keith shot at him also, and
he had a shot through his shoulder. We dressed him out and put him on a
long stick and carried him back to camp.
The next morning,
Keith and I left the packing up to Ricardo, Eliezer and the others,
saddled up and went for the trucks to meet the others at the top of the
hill. On the way, Keith shot a nice buck, but Chihuahua ran when he
shot, and after he caught him, he didn't remember exactly where the
deer was. I happened to come down exactly where the deer was. We got
the trucks, returned and met the others. Packed up and started home,
intending to see another ruin on the way. We were so thirsty that we
went on looking for water, and they gave up looking for the cave
dwelling. We camped just beyond the Villa ranch, and arrived home at
about noon Friday.
October 29, 1954:
Nelle was Stake Primary president. They had Sister Parmley, the General
President, and Sister Anderson from the General Board come to hold a
conference to instruct them. The visitors stayed with us, and the kids
slept on the floor. It was a real blessing to get acquainted with them.
They got all the stake primary children together and spoke to them also,
and showed them slides of the Primary Hospital. The children were
really thrilled. They had a reception and served punch and cookies to
over 350 people.
I don't remember
which year we remodeled the kitchen and put in a window over the sink.
We also added the living room. We put a nice rug in it and bought some
furniture. We bought a gas furnace that we installed in the wall between
the dining room and the living room. We also bought a 500 gallon butane
tank. We dug a well in the corner of our lot by Aunt Lucille's house
and installed an automatic pump. Uncle Harvey sold us some used pipe to
go from the well to the house. Once a little water snake got into the
pump motor and burned it out, but we got it rewound. We also connected
the well to Aunt Lucille's house. The butane gas furnace worked
automatically also with a thermostat. We bought it at Zork Hardware, in
El Paso. We brought the aluminum windows from El Paso also, and the
plaster.
The water table
went down every year so we had to dig the well down every year to have
water. I did this personally with the help of my employees. It finally
got to be about seventy-five feet deep, so we gave up digging it and
put a pipe in the well, filled the well up, and drilled the well down
to about 200 feet. We installed a submersible pump because the other
one didn't work well at that depth.
We raised some
turkeys to have for the holidays, etc. We dressed two or three, froze
them, and sent them to Mother and Dad in Mexico by air express at
Thanksgiving and Christmas every year. We also shipped eggs to them. We
went at least once a year to Mesa to spend a week in the Temple. One
trip was near Christmas in 1954. Aunt Cleah (Uncle Devereaux's wife)
and her daughter, Barbara. invited three of us Bowman couples over for
dinner. Uncle Dev hadn't come from Jacob Lake yet. It was good to get
acquainted with Barbara and Ward Mace, since we hadn't had the
opportunity before.
Sam gave us a lot
of 45 RPM records to play on our record player. We really enjoyed
working in the temple. Since I was the Genealogical Chairman, I had to
speak in the chapel.
February 22, 1955:
Me alla same Japanese boy now. I am trying to learn to sex baby chicks.
We went to conference in Salt Lake City with Mother and Dad. I took the
occasion to go to American Fork where Grant Ivins, who grew up in the
Colonies and was Dad's best friend, had a hatchery. He got his Japanese
chick sexer to show me how to do it. The Japanese do not want to teach
others ordinarily, so I was really blessed to have a good friend. You
take the chick between your left thumb and index finger, give it a
little squeeze to empty its bowel, and then turn its anus inside out
with your right index finger and thumb. The males have a tiny sex organ
on the upper inside of the anus. However, since sex is inherited in
different degrees some females have a little false sex organ, some have
two, and so it takes a lot of practice and good eyesight. Good sexers
can do over 500 an hour. I have done over 300 by now, but I can still do
only 100 in 40 minutes. We are saving the roosters also to see how
accurate I have been.
Chato, Donn,
Ashton, and the boys are pushing reconstruction of the gym now. They
held a workday for all the priesthood members last Saturday to put the
sheeting on the roof. We got most of one side done, and they were not
ready for the other side just yet. They are going to have another
workday next Saturday. The Ward Primary, under Aileen’s direction, sold
hamburgers and sodas to all present to raise funds for the organ
purchase project that Nelle started.
Chato has been at
the gym almost every day for a long time getting the beams
straightened. A while back a welding outfit or something fell, and in
trying to save it he got hit on the head. They had to take a lot of
stitches. It surely seems good to see the gym going up again. It gave
me the queerest feeling to see so much of Dad's labor lost.
Straightening the beams was the biggest problem. The gym will still be
a tribute to Dad's leadership, inspiration, sweat and effort. The gym
was completed and dedicated on February 26, 1956.
March eighth 1955:
Dearest Mom: It is our day again. I am fondly thinking of you, but
haven't yet done anything to demonstrate it to you. All the noble
sentiments that I am capable of feeling tie in to my love for you--not
to mention deep appreciation and admiration. I hope our children will
think the same of me--as time goes by.
They did wake me up
gathered around the bed singing Happy Birthday To You. The Bowman
quartet sang in the Music Festival. We sang "Oh Home Beloved" and "The
Mosquito." Donn sang a very good solo, "Joshua Fit the Battle of
Jericho." He is developing a very good voice. Wesley and Aileen sang a
ranchero duet. My solo Loch Lomand was not very good; the number didn't
help me.
After the Festival,
Nelle invited the family over, including LaSelle and Arletta, Hannah
(and Alma arrived just as we were starting), J.B. and Rinda, and Kenyon
and Leona, to a very nice buffet supper. We enjoyed the visit.
February 7, 1955:
Mother and Dad dropped in tonight with their mission secretary, Elder
Porter. We were happily surprised because they had said they were not
coming. They were just finishing a tour of the mission holding
conferences with Elder Marion D. Hanks. They were thrilled with him, as
thrilled as I have ever seen them be about anyone. Dad and Elder Porter
went to Colonia Juarez with Keith. Keith's Junior M Men team was
playing the Second Ward Team in the Juarez gym.
Elder Porter spent
a couple of hours with his mother during the games. Keith's team won.
After the game, we all gathered to visit with the folks until the wee
hours. They didn't get much sleep because they left at 5:00 A.M. On the
way to Mexico, they ran into a burro on the highway. Elder Porter was
driving. No one was hurt except the burro and the car.
February 20, 1955:
Conrad decided he would walk today. He just started to walk across the
room a number of times. The girls were so enthusiastic about it that he
went too fast and fell hitting his mouth on the base of the armchair.
Since then, he has been rather reluctant to walk. A month or so ago, he
walked across the room a few times, and then refused to walk again until
now. He is 16 months old.
July 12, 1955: The
children have all had the measles. Conrad had a very bad case of croup
along with it. He really had a hard time breathing for two or three
days. He had us really worried a week ago yesterday. We had Bishop
LaSelle and Keith come in and administer to him. Also the doc gave him
shots of adrenalin and penicillin and many spoons full of benadryl and
histadyl cough syrup. He finally got over it, but he really had us
worried. They are all well now and can go to Primary tomorrow.
Bishop Wagner has
been called to preside over the Central American Mission. They will be
leaving soon. Alma Jarvis and Hannah are trying to make a deal to take
over the store and leather products shop.
June 4, 1955:
Kenyon Wagner was set apart as Superintendent of the Ward Y.M.M.I.A,
and he chose me as his Manual counselor and Fletcher Memmott as
activity counselor. Anna Marie (Pratt) Taylor is Y.W. President with
Arietta Taylor and Maurine Bowman as counselors and Christine Jones,
secretary. In January 1956, Kenyon was released, and I was set apart as
Y.M.M.I.A. Superintendent, with Fletcher as my only counselor and Grant
Hawkins as Secretary. We were released in 1958.
You have, no doubt,
heard the news about the agraristas taking the colonies to court to
take away our land, and the unfavorable decision in the Chihuahua
court. Uncle Harvey Taylor is going to Mexico City to fight the
decision in the Supreme Court. He will probably tell you more details
than we know about. We have faith that the cause will not be lost--but
it is a tremendous expense, bother, worry, and loss of time. We can be
thankful that we have someone like Uncle Harvey who is willing to
assume it all. Uncle Harvey was inspired in order to win the case.
June 11, 1955: Our
good friend, Dr. Norris E. Bradbury, the Mister Los Alamos of Readers'
Digest fame, and Director of the Los Alamos Atomic Laboratory that did
the research related to the atomic bomb, etc. and his sons and Marshall
Bond, came down to go to the Barrancas in southern Chihuahua. Bryant
Clark and his boys, Claudius III and I went with them.
Perhaps you know
about the Earl Stanley Gardner book that tells about his trip to this
country. The main thorn in Bradbury's side was that people might think
that he went there because Gardner did. He has been planning this trip
for many years.
Perhaps you know
about the spur of the Kansas City and Orient Railroad that goes down to
Creel, Chihuahua. They are now making the grade on down to the coast in
Sonora. We traveled by pickup trucks to Chihuahua, Cuauhtemoc, La Junta,
then Creel and on south to the deep canyons: The Barranca del Cobre
that runs on down to become the Urique Canyon and river; the Batopilas
canyon which is also a tributary. These canyons are on the order of the
Grand Canyon of the Colorado River, although not quite as breathtaking.
They are stupendous canyons though and very beautiful scenery.
We very much
enjoyed loading our camp gear on mules (rented) and riding and hiking
down to the bottom in two places. In the Barranca del Cobre, we went
down to an old copper mine where years ago they hauled in machinery on
mule back and set up a big operation. The machinery has now been
dismantled, and most of it hauled back out by mule power. Some has been
washed down the canyon by floods. A number of Indians are now working
the mine, and hauling the ore out on their backs to the bottom of the
canyon, where it is loaded on mules that take it to the top, where it
is loaded on trucks and taken to the railroad at Creel. They grind the
gold ore, they grind up in water propelled "taunas" that Marshall Bond
called "arrasters" in English. They are horizontal water wheels that
pull a couple of large flat rocks around in a tank until it grinds the
ore into slushy mud. Then they put in some mercury to amalgamate with
the gold. They squeeze some of the mercury out by wringing it out in
buckskin, after having washed away the mud with water. The rest they get
out by heating it, which leaves the gold in little round balls. During
the last two years, six Indians have been killed by falling off the
steep cliffs while hauling the ore down. The children all had whooping
cough. Marshall left them all the chloromycetin he could spare.
We have 200 feet of
16 mm movie film that will explain it better. We went down in another
place called "Recoguata" where there was a nice hot spring. The
swimming was so good that we all got a bad sunburn.
The Clarks came
home then, but we went on down to the Batopilas and visited the large
copper mine. They spent a few million dollars to make a road 125
kilometers from Creel to the mine. The last part of the road winds back
and forth down a steep hill to the mine on the other side of the
canyon. It is a marvelous sight. There was no place to camp except in
the mine colony, so Marshall said, "Let's go see the Superintendent. We
did, and he was an American. He took us in, fed us, gave us a place to
sleep, and entertained us by showing us a set of slides of the
surrounding country. The next day he showed us through the mine. They
had 14 levels, and the hillside was honeycombed with tunnels. They were
doing a lot of drilling with diamond drills to find enough ore to
continue working. Mr. Emmet gave Claudius III and John Bradbury the
acetylene lamps they used in the mine as souvenirs.
The last leg of our
trip was down the railroad grade from Creel towards the coast. They
were working on it again. It is a spectacular ride that now can be
taken by railroad cars. There are many, many tunnels. In one place the
grade goes around a hill and back under the higher grade. The
"divisadero" (lookout point) is something like Bright Angel Point on
the north rim of Grand Canyon. We didn't go down the Urique Canyon
where they say tropical fruits grow.
This whole area is
Tarahumara Indian territory. We got a picture of one old fellow. He sold
Bradbury his necklace, but would not sell his woven wool belt even if
we threw in a leather belt. These belts have very interesting patterns
and are skillfully woven. They are about six feet long. They wind them
around and tuck them in.
During the
Thanksgiving Holiday, Alma Jarvis and I accompanied Dr. Bradbury and
his friend, Dr. Fred Wendorf, an archeologist from the State Museum at
Santa Fe, New Mexico, out to Ojo Frio west of Casa Janos quite a ways,
to dig in the Indian mounds. It was interesting to get an
archeologist's opinion of the area. They place the heavy Indian
population in this area at about 1300 to 1400 A.D. The Indians that
inhabited the valleys around here were the same as the Pueblo Indians
of New Mexico. They have very colorful pottery, which is the same in
New Mexico. We dug up a lot of broken pottery. The room had burned and
the roof fell on it breaking it. We were not lucky enough to find a
burial with ceremonial pottery around it. We did find a skeleton of a
young individual. Alma shot a goose which we cooked in a Dutch oven for
our Thanksgiving dinner. It tasted very good. We brought home some
metates, manos, and molcahuetes. The stone implements were not broken.
Jarvis found the best stone axe I have ever seen.
Living in a small
community gives us plenty to do in the Church. Donn is a counselor in
the Bishopric, and as a member of the building committee to reconstruct
the gym, he has had enough to do to keep him busy almost 24 hours a day.
They were not going to use the gym until after its dedication, but they
relented and let the Academy use it to entertain the Bowie High School
team from El Paso. The gym is almost finished, and it is better than it
was before because of a few improvements made on it.
The second week in
April 1956 I was assigned to go to the Priesthood Temple Excursion at
Mesa, Arizona. This put me behind in my work, so we haven't taken time
for anything that we could postpone. I very much enjoyed the three all
men sessions that I attended. I also enjoyed visiting with the folk out
there, especially Dart and Erma. We enjoyed hearing some records they
have of Sister Ella Farnsworth reciting and singing (she died recently).
Brother Wilford Farnsworth was here on a short visit the last of April.
Nelle invited them over for supper and an evening visit, along with
Albert and Willa Wagner, their guest, Aunt Min, and Dad Taylor.
June 8, 1956: I had
to take the Scouts and Explorers on a stake outing to Tres Rios (Three
Rivers) last week, so I got behind in my work again. I was just getting
caught up from my Mesa trip. Claudius III went with us, and we had a
good time. We saw some cholugos.
The highway from
Sueco to Nuevo Casas Grandes was completed in September 1955. Our
leaders have collected a few million pesos which will be applied on the
cost of a highway from the Dublan school to Colonia Juarez I never
expected to live to see a highway from Dublan to Colonia Juarez, but it
looks like I will.
July 19, 1956:
Harvest is just about over. We have been having another harvest we will
be glad to see stop, which is a sack full of beautiful pullets to burn
every day because they died of Newcastie. Evidently we got a batch of
vaccine that didn't protect them from the epidemic. We have a couple of
thousand more pullets which the vaccine seems to be protecting well. I
went to El Paso on the train last week to get some more vaccine. I
brought it home on ice, and caught a ride with Uncle Harvey.
October 17, 1956:
We didn't have a birthday party for Conrad this year, but took the
family to a show to celebrate. We went early to get home in time for
Mutual. Nelle got a little wooden jeep for us to give him. He liked it
so much that every once in a while he would look at it and laugh our
loud. Then last night Hannah gave him a plastic train set. It was
difficult to get him to go to bed.
Wesley and Aileen
just got back Monday night from attending Fletcher and Francis' wedding
in Mesa. Wesley has been set apart as a counselor in the Bishopric. It
looks like we will all have a turn in the bishopric.
We had a very
pleasant and happy experience on October 2, 1956 when we attended the
inauguration of the Dublan to Colonia Juarez highway. Governor Losoya
was here with the engineers and other "personajes" (V. I. P's.). They
gave him a nice program in which the J.S.A. chorus was outstanding,
especially because they set a religious tone with two numbers, one in
Latin, and "The Creation." Hector Spencer offered a very nice prayer,
which was quoted in the newspaper report. Then they had a very sumptuous
banquet in the Academy gym. There were about 300 present inside, and I
don't know how many ate barbecue outside. During the program, Uncle
Harvey and others expressed thanks for the road, and Dan gave an
exceptionally good talk for the same purpose. The Governor and his wife
both responded with talks. If our politicians all lived by the ideals
and purposes expressed by the Governor, we would have a very
progressive and helpful government indeed. Losoya was appointed to
replace Soto Maynez, and he served about for 14 months, during which he
sponsored a number of important projects, like our highway. It was
really providential the way we got our highway, and it is a blessing
that we marvel at, and appreciate more each time we travel it. Uncle
Harvey was instrumental in having them pave the road to his home, and
from the highway in front of the gym over to Chato Bluth's home. He and
others paid for it. We were sorry that it didn't last. It broke up after
a year or two.
I have been asked
to work as second counselor to Seville Hatch, who is president of the
High Priests' quorum. Joseph Memmott is the first counselor, and Uncle
Alvin Coon is secretary. This is where we could show some imagination
and initiative where very little has been done before.
After Christmas
1956: Yes. Christmas was happiness at out house. The children received
more than their quota of gifts as usual. Albert Wagner had told me that
Gordie Boyd, the owner of the Carretas ranch, quite a ways west of
Janos, had a 1951 Buick Super to sell. I went out to see it, and liked
it very much. So we arranged for some credit, and the day before
Christmas went out and bought it for $18,750.00 pesos. It only had
12,500 miles on it, had a radio and heater, and was very nice on the
inside. It needed shock absorbers and a few other little repairs.
Roberta was born
with a defect in her nose that made it hard for her to breath properly.
The doctors recommended that we wait until she was about 5 years old to
have an operation on it. So in December 1956, we took her to El Paso,
and she had the operation. They left a plastic tube in her nose to keep
it open. So, just after Christmas, we enjoyed driving the new Buick out
to El Paso to have the tube removed. No doubt Nelle stayed with her in
the hospital, and I remember buying some toys for her and being with her
alone in the hospital or the McCoy hotel. We dismantled the yellow
Buick and made a wagon out of the chassis, which we used for many, many
years.
The first part of
May 1957, we had to dig the well at the Poultry Plant deeper. We had
one of those pumps that use two pipes and a venturi in order to pump
deeper than 25 feet or so. We installed it about 20 feet down in the
well by building a platform for it. The pipes have a short right angle
pipe to connect with the pump. While lowering the pipes into the well
the rope slipped and the whole weight of the pipes, over 50 feet long,
came down on my left foot. It broke at least four bones in my instep. I
had to use crutches and wait for a week or so before they could put a
cast on it. I had to use crutches for over two months. The bones didn't
heal exactly straight, and so I have had a bad callous on the bottom of
my foot ever since.
We had Marion D.
Hanks as our visitor in Stake Conference on May 11 and 12, 1957. It was
held in Dublan. They had installed the new organ in the chapel that
Nelle began the project to purchase. In the priesthood meeting, he told
us about when he was a little boy. His father had died. He slept with
his mother, and was awakened by a visit his father made to his mother
to comfort her and tell her not to grieve so much. She had been crying
often when she was alone at night.
August 14, 1957:
The rainy season is good--not as exaggerated as last year, but better,
especially in the mountains. It looks like they will have a good corn
crop for us to buy. Corn is awfully high this summer, about $1.30 a
kilo. We didn't buy enough to carry us over, so we are buying Sonora
white wheat and milo from the U.S. for about 90 cents.
Nelle is music
director in Mutual. Last night she had a musical program in the special
interest class. The Bowman quartet sang some barber shop numbers in the
traditional style, with our hair parted in the middle, mustaches, etc.,
and wonderful harmony.
The Irvin Romneys
and Spilsburys invited all the adults of Colonia Juarez and some from
Dublan, including us, to Dave's ranch for a barbecue, which was good and
very enjoyable. They had a program around the campfire. I was asked to
sing extemporaneously, but didn't do so well with Waldo accompanying me
on the guitar. Keith played the guitar and sang also. The river was
high and the country is beautifully green.
I can now walk on
my foot wearing canvas oxfords if I walk carefully. It will no doubt be
well soon. It has been three and a half months.
We hear that Keith
is going to be principal of the Dublan grade school. It will keep him
out of mischief to run the school, the ranch and the farm. I guess he
is tired of borrowing money to run on.
Claudius III is
going to Junior High this year at Colonia Juarez. George Turley is his
teacher. He likes it fine. He plays the same saxophone his daddy played
in the band. He is also practicing on the piano. So he can play for
priesthood meeting.
October 16, 1957:
It is Conrad's birthday today, and his Mother is giving him his first
birthday party. He is four years old. He is wearing his new birthday
presents, cowboy boots and a gun and holster set. He is really a
big-shot cowboy. He enjoyed getting a birthday card from his mission
president grandparents. He has a funny little chuckle when he is
pleased.
November 26, 1957:
We missed an opportunity to go to El Paso and visit with our parents
because we were in the mountains at the Carrizo on the Burgos ranch on a
hunt. A violent windstorm spoiled our trip. We had to stay in camp all
day, and most of the time in bed to keep warm because it also snowed.
We were also delayed in getting our "remuda" (horses and mules). There
were two log cabins where we camped, but the spaces between the logs
were not filled and the wind howled through them as if they were not
there. We built a fire inside, and the warmest place was up in the
rafters, where Claudius III and Keith LaRae spent considerable time.
On the way to camp
the pack cinch broke on one mule, and he bucked the boxes off. One
rolled about 25 yards, hit a tree and stopped. The other went like a
big rock rolling down the hill. I thought everything would be broken.
The box was broken up, but I had packed it so well that only two
bottles were broken, and out of 50 eggs, only 6 were broken (we packed
them in bran).
I pulled a boo-boo.
I was riding a mule that wouldn't stand. When I saw the boxes start to
fall, I jumped off and went to try to save them. Of course, the mule
bolted with my guns on the saddle. Don Pancho caught the mule again.
Then when we got packed up again, I got back on the mule and didn't
notice that the cinch had loosened. When going down a steep place the
saddle went forward, and the mule bucked me and the saddle over his
head as slick as a whistle. I had a rope on the saddle that was also
tied to his neck, so he bolted again dragging the saddle and my guns.
The guns were not hurt except that my new telescopic sight was off
about four feet in 100 yards. I used about a dozen shells to line it up
again.
We only hunted to
and from camp, because the wind spoiled everything, but Keith got a
nice buck just before we got to camp. Keith is a very good hunter, fast
on the shot, and any buck he sees within range, whether running or not,
is a goner.
The only shot I
had, my hunting partner, Edwin McClellan, scared before I got a good
bead on the big buck. He didn't see me get off, and he didn't see the
deer.
On Saturday, we
hunted on the way back to the ranch and up to the truck. I took the
long way back and had to climb from the ranch to the truck (an hour and
a half) in the dark. Edwin should have arrived early, but he got to the
ranch after Keith and the boys had gone on up to the truck. He got on
the wrong trail, and it got dark on him also. He got in a rough place
and decided to make a fire and stay there over night. He fired a couple
of shots, but we only heard the echo, and thought he was back at the
ranch house, and Don Pancho would bring him up. He had a bad night just
10 minutes walk from the trucks.
We had been
planning to go home that night, but it is a good thing that we didn't,
because the road was icy and very slippery. We arrived in time to get
cleaned up and make the afternoon session of conference. We had another
great Christmas.
Bishop Anson B.
Call passed away in his sleep in January 1958. We will miss him.
30 April 1958:
Today I must try to get some of the "bugs" out of our business. This is
speaking literally. We have an infestation of chicken ticks that is
extremely difficult to eradicate completely. Today we have a borrowed
power sprayer instead of our usual little barrel pump. Tonight Nelle
will say, "You stink."
March 1958: Dad and
Mother flew as far as Chihuahua. We met them there, and the next day
took them to El Paso. I don't remember if they were flying on up to
conference or not. At one time previously we had also met them in
Chihuahua in the yellow Buick. Claudius had driven it to Nuevo Casas
Grandes at night and had hit a horse. The head of the horse broke the
right side of the windshield making a hole about 6 inches wide and a
foot long. We had taped some plastic over the hole, and had it fixed in
El Paso with a windshield from a junkyard.
We are shipping our
eggs direct to CEIMSA at Mexico City by refrigerated trailer. The price
is $180.00 per case.
Nelle borrowed a
car from Jennie Robinson Langford to take the ladies on her Primary
Board to conference. She took them quite often during the years she
served as Stake Primary President. She was counting on Bishop LaSelle
to drive the car, but he had to ship cattle at that time, so he got
Wesley to do it. We took some of them in our car.
May 1958: Dad
enjoyed his mission so much that he had expressed his desire to spend
the rest of his life in that service.
On Sunday evening,
May 18, 1958, he died in a tragic automobile accident on the way home
from a conference. The accident happened near Tecamachalco, Puebla, a
town I had visited while on my first mission. As I remember, the
General Authorities were planning to release our parents from their
mission. Dad had some health problems, and he had served five years. We
believe that Dad was released by the Supreme Authority in the universe,
and that he is continuing his mission in that other sphere. We can
imagine the joyful reunion he had with his parents. We are thankful for
all he has meant to us and all he has done for us, and we will always
feel his strong influence in our lives.
My former mission
president, Harold Pratt, was kind enough and interested enough to fly
over in his airplane that Monday morning, May 19th, to tell us about the
tragic accident our parents had suffered the night before.
Donn, Wesley and I
got ready and drove to Chihuahua to be sure and catch the afternoon
flight to Mexico City. On our arrival at the mission home, we found
that Mother was in the general hospital in Puebla, very seriously
injured, as were Elder Bevan Haycock (Dad's first counselor who was
driving the car) and the two lady missionaries who had accompanied
them. Dad's body was on its way to a mortuary in Mexico City.
We all felt that
Mother needed us, so after discussing plans with the missionaries and
with Wilford Farnsworth Jr. and Ben Griffin, who were taking charge of
most of the arrangements, we decided to go to Puebla. Ben Griffin had
driven over to the accident and taken care of things there. He said
that the famous movie star, Cantinflas, was the first on the scene, and
he had called the Red Cross. Wilford handed me the keys to his
Plymouth, and told me that it was ours as long as we needed it. We got
to Puebla at 2:30 A.M. Tuesday morning. (While in Mexico City, we had a
very much appreciated telephone conversation with Uncle Harold, who was
President of the Spanish Mission in the Southern U.S.).
When we saw Mother,
it was plain to be seen why they were fearful of losing her too. She
was terribly injured. Her right arm was broken just below the shoulder;
she had bad bruises all over her body, and especially on her jaw and
face. Her false teeth had badly injured her mouth, but her jaw was not
broken as they had feared. Because of her state of deep shock they had
not told her that Dad had passed on. She rallied some when she saw us,
and we administered to her anointing her with oil and giving her a
blessing. The Lord certainly did give her the blessings we asked for
her.
Elder Haycock was
terribly bruised and cut on his body and face, and his right leg was
painfully broken halfway above the knee. (When they set it, they didn't
get it straight, and they had to break it again to straighten it.) When
he saw us, he broke down and cried inconsolably. I think we were able to
show him, during the week we were there that we didn't hold any
feelings toward him or blame him in any way for the accident.
One of the lady
missionaries was cut quite badly just above the nose, but was feeling
pretty well. The other, Sister Bernard, was still unconscious with a
brain concussion. She did get well, however.
It took nearly all
day Tuesday to get around the red tape and get them all transferred
from the General Hospital to the Latino-Americano Hospital so that we
would have the services of their very fine surgeons and modern
equipment. It would have been much more difficult but for the help of
an influential man, a Mr. Buntzler who owned the General Motors
automobile agency. He read about the accident in the newspaper and knew
we would have problems, so he came and offered to help. A number of
times I saw him give blue bills (50 pesos) to the officials, and he
refused to accept repayment. It is a serious crime to have an accident
in Mexico. They were holding Elder Haycock criminally responsible, and
they placed a guard over him in the hospital. They hold the doctors
responsible for patients placed in their care after an accident, and in
order to transfer them it is necessary to get a court order to transfer
their care to another doctor. It happened that all the officials were
on vacation, and only the secretaries were in the offices. We were so
grateful for the help of Mr. Buntzler, who used his influence and pulled
the necessary strings to get the transfer.
Mother was
transferred to a nice room with two beds. She said, “Oh good, now they
can bring your father to be with us.” This was the first opportunity I
had to tell her. She had said a number of times that she couldn't see
how Dad could be all right, because she had dimly seen how he was. I
reminded her that she knew in her heart that he was no longer with us.
Then the force of it hit her, but she is a wonderful strong character.
After a few tender moments while we were crying together, she was able
to control herself, and it didn't have the adverse effect on her that
they had feared.
Wesley and I both
gave her blood, and she was still taking it when they took her in to
surgery to put a plate on the broken bone in her arm. This was so she
would not need a chest cast, which would have been painful and
uncomfortable. They used the most modern technique, including dramamine
with the anesthetic to prevent sickness. She stood the surgery very
well, and she made a very rapid recovery, except it was difficult for
her to take nourishment because of her sore mouth and weakened
condition.
Thursday, we went
down to Tecamachalco to get Dad's personal effects, etc. We were lucky
to be able to find the Ministerio Publico and the Recaudador de Rentas,
who had the things locked in the safe. They finally turned over to us
$130.00 dollars, $1,452.00 pesos, a $1,000.00 Boliviannos bill that Dad
carried as a souvenir, his bloody watch, his wallet, and his papers.
They also gave us a permit from the Ministerio Publico, and we went down
to Tehuacan to get the rest of the things out of the car. When we saw
the car, we were overcome with emotion. We have slides that we took of
it. We had also interviewed the doctor who had performed the official
autopsy on Dad's body, and had given first aid to the others. We also
had thanked the Red Cross people, and gave them a $500.00 peso
donation, which the Church reimbursed us for.
The accident
happened at about kilometro 211, near Tecamachalco, where I had an
interesting experience as a missionary 20 years ago. They had cleaned
everything up, so we couldn't find the exact spot. It was a freak
accident in which a number of coincidences happened at once, which made
it unavoidable. It happened about 9:00 or 10:00 at night in a drizzly
rainstorm. Mother had tried to get them to stop at Fortin de las Flores
and at Tehuacan, but they thought it was necessary to go on home that
night to meet the schedule of the next day.
They had left
Tierra Blanca at about 6:00 P.M., and Brother Haycock was driving. They
had been following a passenger bus, not being able to pass. They came
to a passing zone and started to pass the bus, but it suddenly cut in
front of them. He pressed hard on the brake--no response. He didn't
want to hit the bus--to the left looked bad, so he cut to the right and
crashed into a truck load of mangoes parked right on the highway with a
broken wheel. There was not time to cut back to the right. The car went
under the truck bed crashing the hood, indshield and truck right in
their faces. The right doorpost was broken. The front seat came loose,
and was bent under the impact of the three sisters in the back. Dad
must have died instantly. We didn't see his face. The mortuary couldn't
repair it so they covered his head with bandages.
Brother Haycock's
strength saved his life. The strength of his arms broke the steering
wheel from its spokes. His leg was broken by the strength of his foot on
the brake and the steering column or wheel, which was badly bent. They
had taken the car to a service station in Tierra Blanca to check the
brakes because they were not working well on the way down. The brake
pedal was still in the down position when we saw it. So it was just one
of those cases of coincidences.
On Friday, Mother
wanted to go home. When we got ready to go, we found that we needed to
get another court order to get her out, so we went again to Mr. Paul
Buntzler, a German or Swiss American, who is married to the daughter of
one of the most influential men in Puebla and has a lot of influence in
his own right. After a long search to find the right people, he passed
some of those blue bills again, and we finally got her release. We left
Puebla at about 3:00 p.m. Mother stood the trip very well, which was a
miracle to have her that well so soon.
The good people in
Mexico City, the Farnsworths, the Griffins, the Hawses, the Larsens had
packed all the Bowman things, and so we got some sleep before leaving
at 5:30 A.M. for the airport. Wilford had arranged to have the Church
charter a DC3 airplane to take us all home. It was a freight plane and
so we sat on metal benches along the sides of the plane, and Dad's body
was in the cabin with us. We also brought a lot of flowers. Some Elders
and mission home maids went with us for the ride. When we arrived at
the airport and were ready to leave, some nincompoop of a Salubridad
(Health) officer tried to prevent our take-off, and delayed us about an
hour until Wilford learned what was going on, and told the pilot, "Let's
go." The hearse came over to the plane and we loaded the casket and
flowers and took off for home. We really appreciate the generosity of
the Church to spend over $17,000.00 Pesos to send us all home, and the
many other things that were done for us by the Church, the missionaries
and the good people residing in Mexico City. The members there had held
a memorial service for Dad, and Wilford sent us copies of the minutes.
There was a large crowd of family members and friends at the airport in
Nuevo Casas Grandes to meet us. This was a comfort and joy. The funeral
was held that same afternoon. It was a miracle and a great blessing
from the Lord to have Mother well enough to stand the trip and attend
the funeral.
December 15, 1958:
We've had a good year in the poultry business and have been able to pay
off some debts. Nelle is teaching this year, since Conrad, our youngest
is five and is in the neighborhood kindergarten. We are busy serving in
the Church and in our many activities.
We enjoyed singing
"The Messiah" last Sunday. I sang the tenor solos. I forgot to mention
that Brother Larsen and Sister Jeanne Larsen were called to preside
over a mission, but Brother Larsen died just before they were to leave.
Jeanne much later married Doctor E. LeRoy Hatch.
The First
Presidency sent Elder Gordon B. Hinckley to represent them at Dad's
funeral. He gave a wonderful talk. While he was speaking, Uncle Harold
leaned over to me and said, "Elder Hinckley is a great man; he will be
an Apostle one of these days." If I remember right, he was ordained an
Apostle within a year. We have a recording of the funeral.
Four of Dad's
brothers came to the funeral: Uncle Thell, Uncle Demar, Uncle Harold
and Uncle Devereaux and their wives. Many others came long distances to
be here to honor Dad, including two or three of Mother's sisters.
November 1958: The
Amerind Foundation of Dragoon, Arizona has a group here under the
direction of Charles C. Dipeso, excavating the Casas Grandes montezumas
(Indian dwellings). We were up there today, and we also visited the
laboratory where they have all the pottery and objects they have found.
The thrill it gave me motivated this letter.
The Dipesos set up
their double trailer house on Dad Taylor's lot just east of the
gymnasium. Their two boys go to school with our kids. They are very
nice people, and seem to be very well trained archaeologists. We are
happy to have qualified people doing this job, which has needed doing
for so long. They arrived last August, if I remember right, and are
planning to make it a three-year project.
They started
excavating on the less interesting west side of the ruins, in order to
train their crew, I suppose. They uncovered a few rooms nearby some
rock lined, deep vinata holes (to cook mescal cactus), and also some
pit houses. They found about fifteen skeletons that apparently were on
the roof of a series of rooms, because they were on top of the roof
that had fallen in. All the rooms that were used as kitchens had the
typical fire hole with the ashes hole behind it by the wall. There was
also an oven similar to those used by the natives at the present time
in small towns. They dug though a large mound of rubbish which they say
may have been from an earlier time. They counted and classified large
quantities of shards, bones etc. They uncovered a structure about a
meter high in the form of a cross pointing to north, south east, and
west, with round mounds the same height (platforms) opposite each arm.
They call this an astronomical structure, and say that the round
platforms were probably for ceremonial dancing. However, they say it is
too early to draw any conclusions relative to anything they have found.
They uncovered what they called a ball court with raised platforms on
the east and west sides, which may have served as bleachers. Just south
of this court there is a two stage pyramid. On the north side, in a
small room, they found an exquisite copper filigree turtle ornament
about four inches long by three wide. Dipeso said that it was probably
brought from the south as a trade item. It resembles Toltec work. There
is another pyramid, and on the south side there is a shrine of some
sort in which there was a sort of altar recess carved in soft red rock.
In the recess was a pedestal on which there were two carved human
figures, male and female, about ten inches high, all of which had been
broken up. They found all the pieces of the male figure, but couldn't
find the head of the other. The figures do not have much detail, but
are recognizable.
In the high-rise
area with four or five floors, they found buried skeletons everywhere
on the ground floor. They found as high as ten to a room.
These ruins are
called the Paquime, and they place them in time from about 1060 A.D to
1340 A.D. They found as many as 12 or more rooms without an outside
entrance. They brought over the water from the hot springs in a
rock-lined ditch, and there were two large storage ponds. The rock lined
ditch went through the rooms toward the river. In the rooms, the ditch
was covered with flat rocks. The floors of the upper rooms were
supported by large pine logs, with smaller logs and willows as a base,
and a four or five inch layer of mud over them. They were plastered with
mud and caliche.
In the center there
was a large patio-market place. There were turkey pens and parrot
nesting pens. The latter had a flat rock with a round hole in it as a
door, which was closed with a long round rock.
They uncovered 1780
rooms, two thirds of which were living quarters. One third of the rooms,
but one half of the space were public or ceremonial rooms. In one place
the ceiling is only about a meter high, and it was called a work room
where they worked sitting down. They found many kinds of raw materials,
including two truckloads of sea shells of various sizes--many small
shells.
They found burials
that suggested human sacrifices. They also found five trophy skulls of
a different type than the buried skeletons. They had holes bored for a
thong and handle to carry them. They estimated the population living in
the high rise section as 2,242 people.
In one pyramid,
someone had dug a sort of well. After the battle of Casas Grandes
during the revolution, they buried the dead in that well. They call it
the Mound of the Heroes. Dipeso had a pedigreed large dog. Someone
poisoned the dog, so Dipeso buried him in that mound with the heroes.
I could go on and
write many more pages on this theme. Dipeso published one large book
describing the ruins and the people and their customs, etc. and another
describing all the artifacts they found. I have a little pamphlet and
some handwritten notes in my briefcase. It was really interesting to go
up and watch them uncover skeletons and artifacts. I must mention that
they only uncovered about half of the pueblo, leaving the rest for a
future exploration when more information is available. I must also
mention that on the east side they found a stairway leading down to a
well, that is a walk-in well. In this well they found many copper
artifacts, including small ornamental bells, etc. While excavating the
stairway they found a large turtle covered with inlaid jade. They found
textiles, mats, and remains of foodstuffs so they could say what the
people ate and how they dressed.
On April 17, 1960,
I was ordained a bishop by one of the Assistants to the Twelve
Apostles, William J. Crithlow Jr., to preside over the Dublan Second
Ward. The Second Ward included all the Spanish-speaking members in
Dublan and Nuevo Casas Grandes. The Stake Presidency, David S. Brown,
President, L. LaSelle Taylor and Donn S. Bowman were in the circle to
ordain me and set me apart. Mother, Nelle, Claudius III, and Loriene
were also present. My Bishop's Certificate was signed by the First
Presidency, David 0. McKay, J. Reuben Clark Jr, and Henry D. Moyle.
There were 310 members when we started, but it grew to 540 while we
served.