Jennie's parents came to Rangely in 1926 with nine children. They homesteaded on Little Foundation in 1931, thirty miles from Rangely. Jennie was born in 1930. The family eventually had eleven children, but two died with "crib death," and one was a still birth. Her mother didn't have a doctor for some of them. She talks about her mother doing the work inside and outside the house: irrigation, milking, and feeding cows. Jennie talks about medical care in a very rural area: broken bones, scarlet fever, and the doctor who came from Meeker for emergencies. Jennie discusses big winter snows and cold, and riding to school on horses. Her mother home schooled the children some years. Her mother eventually got her B.A. and Master's degrees and taught in the Rangely schools for twenty years. Jennie finished high school in Rangely. Jennie talks about the house they lived in on the ranch, sometimes sleeping three to a bed in the two room house. Later they built a new house, and the children slept in the old house. Jennie also talks about what they did for entertainment, and travel away from the ranch.
When she was eight years old, Glee came to the Rangely area with her father and two siblings (1921?). Her mother had just died of diabetes. Her father had worked in the coal mines in Winterquarters, Utah where Glee was born in 1913. Her father leased a ranch near Rangely where he felt he could take better care of the three children. She describes: household chores, winter activities, dances, school, puberty, and clothing. Glee also describes the town of Rangely and what staples her family bought at the one store. She talks about their food sources: meat from cows, and hunting. Glee married Lester Kenney at seventeen and lived on several ranches owned by her husband's father in the Rangely area. She had three children and went to Vernal, Utah and Grand Junction, Colorado for their births. She describes the small school in Rangely (twelve children) that had teachers who boarded with local families. Glee died in 2000.
Ruby Kirby's parents (sister is Leona Rector Hinricks) came to the Rangely area in 1898-99. They had three children, Ruby (born in 1902), Leona, and a son. Ruby talks about Ute Indians who visited the ranch. And she describes: home remedies, chores, play, and riding horses. The children had tutors at home and also spent winters in Grand Junction for school. Ruby describes activities at the ranch during their teenage years: house work, horses, picnics, dances, and the family band. She and her sister went to Western State College. Ruby worked in San Francisco for three years in 1927 and then returned home. She married Russel Dare in 1936, but he was shot in front of the Rangely store by a "squatter" when she was eight months pregnant. After having her daughter, she soon married Albert Kirby, a local rancher. They continued to ranch in the area until Albert died two years prior to this interview, but Ruby's daughter and family live on the ranch and she continues to move between summer and winter ranches. Ruby died in 1995.
Ila's parents came to the Rangely area to homestead on Douglas Creek in 1908. Her mother made friends with Ute Indians who passed through the area hunting along the White River. As a child she remembers: caring for bum lambs, milking cows, irrigation, the garden, planting potatoes, clearing sage brush, making deer jerky, washing clothes, baking bread, ironing, and clothing (dresses). She remembers: home remedies, injuries, 1918 flu, and puberty. For fun they fished, rode horses, made horse tail ropes, went to dances, and visited with neighbors. She went to school in Utah, Rangely, and Grand Junction. She regrets quitting school in Junior High to get married (1927) to Lester Powell. She and her husband moved to Seattle, Washington for three years, but returned to homestead on Douglas Creek during the Depression. They had 10 children. They dug their own coal mine and helped build the school. Ila expresses attitudes towards: working mothers, birth control, children, and not having a career. Ila died in 2008.
Stella was born in Oak Creek, Colorado and grew up near McCoy, Colorado on a ranch until she was six years old when her father died. She had five siblings. Stella's mother moved the family to Glenwood Springs so that she could work and her children could finish high school. The children spent summers on the ranch. She talks about: homemade clothing, working during the depression, and summers on the ranch. Stella married Jay Rector and traveled with him to construction jobs. Later they worked on the Kirk ranch, and finally on her husband's father's ranch, both near Rangely. She talks about her husband's mother, who had ten children and first came to the area in 1898 at six years old. Stella describes: washing clothes, cooking for family and extra help, gardening, sewing, roundup, and needlework. The ranch was twenty miles from town, and she saw few neighbors. She liked the chores outside, but not the cooking. She had four children, and talks about her daughter's education, etc. Stella describes the town library, 4H, and women's clubs. Stella died in 1991.
Ina was born in Hurley, New Mexico in 1916 into a family of twelve children. When she was two they moved to Meeker, Colorado and her father died when she was six. They then moved to Rifle where she attended school. The family was very poor after father's death and Ina talks about: little medical care, home remedies, puberty, deaths of children from TB, spinal meningitis, years of deprivation and sadness, and describes the death of her closest sister from spinal meningitis. Ina married John H. Eddy when she graduated from high school. After having three children, one premature, she found she was RH negative. The family moved around Colorado for her husband's jobs until settling in Rangely where he worked in the Texaco oil field. She describes the early years of the town of Rangely during the oil boom: streets, and schools. They lived in a Texaco company house near the field. Ina worked in the school cafeteria for a number of years. In later years, she and her husband lived in several places in the West for his employment with the government. She missed watching her grandchildren growing up. Ina died in 1988.
Leona's father came to the Rangely area in 1885 from Texas, and her mother arrived in 1899 after her marriage. They purchased a ranch on the White River. There were twelve to fourteen families in the area when Leona and her sister (Ruby Rector Kirby) and brother were children. She talks about: her mother's childbirths, community dances at their house, winter activities, musical instruments, play, school, work, and clothing. Leona discusses: cooking, baking bread, eating their own cows, hogs, chickens, turkeys, staples, washing clothes, home remedies (Ute Indians), and diseases. She talks about relations with the Ute Indians who came by their house during hunting season. She and her siblings attended high school in Grand Junction. Leona attended Western State College for three years and then married Clarence Hinricks. Her husband worked in oil fields in Wyoming and near Craig (Iles Grove). She taught in rural schools for seven years. They had one son. She talks about teaching one winter at the Moropas one room school. She later worked as an office manager. She worked outside the home for thirty years. Leona died in 1995.
Ellen was born in Lipol(?) New Mexico on September 6, 1907. Her parents had twelve children. Her father had a stroke shortly after they moved to Meeker in hopes of buying a ranch. Soon they moved to Rifle where the older brothers and sisters, including Ellen, worked to support the family (drugstore clerk, babysitting). She talks about reading, home remedies, illness, education, and puberty. Ellen married Phil Dunn at twenty-three. Her husband worked for the Colorado State Highway Dept. They moved all over the state as roads were built. She describes: rustic housing, cooking, cold winters, road crew communities, and moving often. She lived in Rangely in a tent for a time during the oil boom. She describes the community and the building of the roads. They finally settled in Grand Junction where her husband worked in the pipe business. She describes: women's clubs, activities, marriage, divorce, and working. Ellen died in 1989.
Rosamay was born in 1898 on a ranch near Juniper Springs. Her mother, Bell, lived as a young woman in Maybell and the town may have been named after her and her sister, May. Rosamay's father was the foreman on the K-Diamond Ranch and there were no nearby neighbors. She and her sister rode horses and played with dolls. After her father died, they moved to Maybell where her mother owned a drugstore. She describes visiting an Indian camp at Cross Mountain. Rosamay also talks about: clothing for school, riding, home remedies, and dances. Her education ended after one year in high school for financial reasons. She later went to business college and worked for three years before marrying. Her husband, George Savage, was the chief of police in Boulder, Colorado. When he retired they bought a ranch near Rangely and she joined the Home Demonstration Club. She had no children. She enjoyed textile painting and quilting. Rosamay died in 1993.
