Augustus Hansen (1884 - 1957): Our Family History

1884 - 1957 (72 years) Has 2 ancestors and 30 descendants in this family tree.

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Name	Augustus Hansen
Birth	23 Aug 1884	Adair, Navajo, Arizona, United States
Christening	6 Nov 1884	Adair, Navajo, Arizona, United States
Gender	Male
Initiatory (LDS)	2 Jun 1909	SLAKE
FamilySearch ID	KWC2-6WW
Death	16 Jun 1957	McNary, Apache, Arizona, United States
Burial	20 Jun 1957	Lakeside Cemetery, Navajo, Arizona, United States
Headstones	Submit Headstone Photo
Headstones	Submit Headstone Photo
Person ID	I161452	mytree
Last Modified	25 Feb 2024

Father	Hans Nielsen Hansen, b. 4 Apr 1837, Karlebo, Frederiksborg, Sjælland, Kongeriget Danmark d. 2 Aug 1901, Colonia Juárez, Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, México (Age 64 years)
Mother	Mary Adsersen, b. 28 Sep 1848, Tange, Esbjerg, Syddanmark, Kongeriget Danmark d. 3 Sep 1911, Pinetop, Navajo, Arizona, United States (Age 62 years)
Marriage	15 May 1865	Washington, Washington, Utah, United States
Family ID	F41078	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Family Lydia Emma Whipple, b. 16 Feb 1887, Adair, Navajo, Arizona, United States d. 26 Oct 1977, Logan, Cache, Utah, United States (Age 90 years)

Marriage 2 Jun 1909 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States

Children

	1. Hans Stanley Hansen, b. 22 Jul 1911, Lakeside, Navajo, Arizona, United States d. 23 Jul 1911, Lakeside, Navajo, Arizona, United States (Age 0 years)
+	2. Lynn Herman Hansen, b. 21 Aug 1913, Lakeside, Navajo, Arizona, United States d. 21 Jan 1982, Provo, Utah, Utah, United States (Age 68 years)
+	3. Dona Hansen, b. 30 Jun 1915, Lakeside, Navajo, Arizona, United States d. 20 Nov 2012, Nampa, Canyon, Idaho, United States (Age 97 years)
+	4. Ross Wells Hansen, b. 14 Dec 1916, Lakeside, Navajo, Arizona, United States d. 27 Dec 1993, Boise, Ada, Idaho, United States (Age 77 years)
>	5. Gus Adsersen Hansen, b. 15 May 1918, Lakeside, Navajo, Arizona, United States d. 3 Apr 1971, Joseph City, Navajo, Arizona, United States (Age 52 years)
>	6. Whipple Bruce Hansen, b. 19 Sep 1919, Lakeside, Navajo, Arizona, United States d. 20 Dec 2004, Littleton, Arapahoe, Colorado, United States (Age 85 years)
+	7. Elda Hansen, b. 8 Jan 1921, Lakeside, Navajo, Arizona, United States d. 14 Nov 1972, Mesa, Maricopa, Arizona, United States (Age 51 years)
>	8. Dean Oliver Hansen, b. 27 Jul 1923, Lakeside, Navajo, Arizona, United States d. 4 Nov 1989, Littleton, Arapahoe, Colorado, United States (Age 66 years)
+	9. Loma Hansen, b. 12 Jul 1925, Lakeside, Navajo, Arizona, United States d. 1 Apr 2018, Hyrum, Cache, Utah, United States (Age 92 years)
	10. Boyd Legra Hansen, b. 29 Jul 1927, Lakeside, Navajo, Arizona, United States d. 25 Mar 2006, Parker, Douglas, Colorado, United States (Age 78 years)
	11. Lora Hansen, b. 14 Aug 1930, Lakeside, Navajo, Arizona, United States d. 19 Aug 1930, Lakeside, Navajo, Arizona, United States (Age 0 years)
	12. Blain Hanwill Hansen, b. 10 Nov 1931, Lakeside, Navajo, Arizona, United States d. 17 Feb 1932, Lakeside, Navajo, Arizona, United States (Age 0 years)

Family ID F41068 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Last Modified 6 Mar 2025

Event Map

	Birth - 23 Aug 1884 - Adair, Navajo, Arizona, United States
	Christening - 6 Nov 1884 - Adair, Navajo, Arizona, United States
	Initiatory (LDS) - 2 Jun 1909 - SLAKE
	Marriage - 2 Jun 1909 - Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States
	Death - 16 Jun 1957 - McNary, Apache, Arizona, United States
	Burial - 20 Jun 1957 - Lakeside Cemetery, Navajo, Arizona, United States

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Notes

Augustus Hansen
(Taken from his diary and compiled by Lydia Hansen)

I Augustus Hansen, son of Hans Hansen Sr. and Mary Adsersen was born 2 3 A ugust 1884 at Adair, Arizona. The midwife that took care of my mothe r a t that time was Sr. Eliza Merrell, wife of Alonzo J. Merrell. I was b or n in the house that father built in Fools Hallow, about 2 miles up th e ha llow from the Showlow creek. I was christened by my father.
The first Sunday School teacher that I can remember was grandfather Hen r y Mills. I remember him teaching me the A,B,C’s and pulling my ear i f I d id not remember the letter O, so that I would have to say O.
My first school experiences there were great as they are for any small c h ild. My first school teacher was a man named Kentner who taught the met ho d of phonics of sound in spelling. I was considered the best speller i n s chool at that time. We used to have spelling classes when all the pup il s in school would stand up and the best speller would go to the head o f t he class as a pupil misspelled a word.
One day at school a cavalry of soldiers from Ft. Apache came by and th e t eacher allowed us to go out and watch them. One of the boys found a c ut o f Old Climax tobacco which the soldiers had lost. At recess the boy s al l sampled it to see what it tasted like. As soon as the recess too k up w e had reading class and all stood up to read. I well remember how , whe n I stood up the house began going around, a result of the tobacco . I wa s so sick that the teacher thought I was going to die and so di d I – I le ft my breakfast on the floor.
At about seven years old I wanted to learn to ride a house on a lope . I h ad several playmates who could do it and to me it would be a grea t accomp lishment. I also wanted to get big enough to reach on top the ma ntel piec e. I wanted to learn to guide a team with the lines and mil k a cow.
The only store that was in Adair was run by Jesse Brady. He kept it a n d a forage station for the mail horse. I loved to go to the store eve n i f I couldn’t buy anything; everything smelled so good. They had big w oode n buckets of stick candy that smelled so good, especially the horeho und . I liked the smell of the new boots and the calico had a good smel l too.
School changed places and they had it at the Hunning ranch. We childre n w alked to school and I liked the walk because we would see the fine ho rse s in the Hunning pasture. I remember the names of two of the big stal lion s. Lex and Tassio. Some of the children that went to school there we re th e adopted children of the Hunnings. Will and Frank Adams and thei r siste r Louise. Hunnings also had a store that I liked to go to. The tr ees arou nd their place were always filled with birds that sang, especial ly I like d to hear the blackbirds sing.
My travels were few. I went to Snowflake with my folks and to Ft. Apach e . My father was a mason and builder and he built most of the old rock h ou ses in Ft. Apache. I loved to go there and see the negro soldiers pla y fo otball, and see the stables that were filled with fine cavalry horse s.
About the year 91 we moved from Fools Hallow to the Warren ranch wes t o f Pinetop, what is now the John Adair homestead. I had to herd cows a nd h unt horses while we lived there. One day my sister Cena and I went t o fin d the team as they were badly needed and we had a hard time findin g them . We decided that we would pray about it and so we knelt down an d ask th e Lord to help us. After we finished praying we got up and wen t straigh t for home, not knowing why. When we arrived home we found tha t the horse s had come home and we were grateful for the answer to our pr ayer. I am g rateful for the example that my parents set before me to pra y. My fathe r was a firm believer in prayer and I can never remember hi m not prayin g morning and evening no matter where he was or who was ther e. I loved t o hear him talk to the Lord. He was just as faithful at aski ng the blessi ngs of the Lord on the food.
While we were living at the Warren ranch there was a conference held f o r the hour stakes in Arizona. (I suppose that they were Snowflake, St . Jo hns, Maricopa, and the stake in the Gila Valley.) There was no hous e larg e enough to accommodate the crowd so a bowery was built at Pinetop . Osme r D. Flake was in charge of the clearing of the land and buildin g the bow ery. The lumber was sawed for the bowery on the John Hall mil l which wa s originally the mill that sawed the lumber for the St. Georg e temple. W e children worked for Flake and he gave us paper cap pistol s and tin plat es with the alphabet around the edge. (I copied this fro m Lorenzo H. Hatc h journal who was one of the stake presidencies at tha t time.) The confer ence was held July 10203. Pres. Geo. Q. Cannon, Jos . F. Smith, Ger. Reyno ls and a reporter were from Salt Lake. A large ass embly of people were pr esent. We had a splendid time on Sunday. Monday t he 4th of July we celebr ated. Tuesday held conference again and the Pres idency shook hands with e very man woman and child. In the afternoon we w ere instructed on politica l matters. At this celebration one of Hunning’ s fine horses was stolen an d taken into Old Mexico.
Horse stealing at that time was very prevalent as well as cow rustling a l l over the country. Father lost most of his cattle one winter. This wa s a bout the time the famous Pleasant Valley war among the cattlemen wa s goin g on.
My brother Andrew and I had to herd cows and we had a little yellow ma r e that we used to herd them on. It was my delight to lead her around wh er e the good patches of grass were so she could eat. She liked a littl e yel low flower and I always liked the smell of her breath after she ha d eate n it. I still like the smell of a horses breath and the smell of t he litt le yellow flower.
At this age I had great fear of the things that I would hear the older p e ople talk about. I thought that most Indians were killers because of t h e stories told of the Apache Kid. The talk of wars and the diseases li k e diphtheria and St. Vitus and others were terrible things in my fears . O ne cold winter day father and mother were gone and my sister and I we re a t home alone and an Indian and his wife came to the house to get war m. W e piled chairs and tables against the door so they could not get in . The y were friendly but how were we to know.
About the spring of 1892 we moved from the Warren ranch to Woodland, wh a t was then known as Fairview or Hogtown. Father bought a squatters rig h t from Mary Stock and paid him 20 head of cattle for it. It had onl y a sh ack on it so father started to build a house of logs.
I was eight years old and when the house was up to the square, father g o t down off it and took me and Mable Stock Seymore to the creek and bapt iz ed us. I will never forget the place or the feeling that I had whe n I wa s baptized and confirmed. My father was bishop at the time. The pe ople wh o lived in Woodland at the time we moved there were all young – E lex McCl eve, Joe Stock, Ab Crandell and John Marvin. Hans also lived the re .
The name Woodland was suggested by Pres. Jesse N. Smith who was then pre s ident of the Snowflake stake. As they walked with father and other me n th ey ask what shall we call the place and he suggested the name Woodla nd.
My associates were more numerous and varied, some good and some not so g o od. The bad ones seemed to be more interesting to me than the good one s . I wonder now how I got by as well as I did with the pals I had. I kn o w that it was the faith and prayers and good example of my good parent s a nd the teachings that I received in Sunday School. My school teacher s wer e a help to me also.
The years from 7 to 12 were my school years with a variety of teachers , s ome who knew the workings of a boy’s mind and some who taught just fo r th e money. It wasn’t my intention to learn anything in particular. I l ike d English, spelling, geography, history and physiology but had no us e fo r arithmetic or music. I liked reading and some of my favorite stori es i n the readers were “The Stagg:, “When Guy and Freddie went to the Gr ist a nd Sawmill”, and Faithful Fido.” (Appelton’s readers) I liked histo ry bec ause it told how men became big men. I liked geography best when t he teac her took us to the creek and showed us what islands, capes and gu lfs were . One teacher especially knew how to get kids to school and on t ime. Eac h morning and noon she would read a chapter from the books Blac k Beauty o r Pegasis the Winged Horse. One has to get the interest of th e pupils bef ore they can teach. In those days one teacher would teach al l the grades.
My dad was a hard working man and a good provider for those days. My mot h er was a good cook and a natural dressmaker, her father in Denmark w a s a tailor. I have known her to buy material in the morning and be wear in g the dress in the evening. We always seemed to have enough beef and n eve r went without bread, but sugar and grease were scarce.
I never remember searing a pair of overshoes in my boyhood days. We wou l d take rawhide and soak it until it was soft then wrap it around our fe e t to keep the wet and snow out. There were no graded roads. The roads w er e made in between the trees by removing the big rocks, not very good a t a ll. There were few wire fences. The land that was fenced was made mos tl y by falling trees around the piece of land.
The time came when Arizona did not seem large enough for my dad so he de c ided to go South of the Border down Mexico way. My sister Cathrine ha d li ved there for years so he decided to go along with Mily Webb who wa s taki ng his family. Father could not ride in a wagon on account of an i njury h e had when he was a boy. He was kicked by a mule and it impared t he arter ies in his heart. He bought a little yellow mule that was easy t o ride an d went everywhere on it. Mother had been ill and bedfast for al most a yea r and was unable to make the move. Father left in September 19 00.
In March the next spring we received a letter from father asking us to s e ll everything and come to Colonia Juarez where he was. We sold and gav e a way everything, selling at a sacrifice, sold our milk cows for $20.00 . Mo ther was not able to be up and my sister May was 11 years old but w e star ted to Mexico. We went by team and wagon to Holbrook and from ther e to E l Paso on the train.
While in El Paso we stayed at a hotel where Bro. Murdock and wife were s t aying. They were making a tour of the world sightseeing. We stayed the r e an extra day so mother could rest. Bro. Murdock took us across the li n e into the city Juarez. We visited the 300 year old cathedral. Here i n th e city I witnessed a bull fight – when you see one you will never wa nt t o see another. It’s too wicked.
As I remember, it took us all day on the slow train in Mexico to go abo u t 200 miles. We stayed in the town of Dublan that night at Bro. Minerel y’ s place – he used to live in Snowflake. The next day we went on into C olo nia Juarez with team and wagon and arrived there just at night fall . Th e town made a beautiful arrival. The town was well kept, green lawns , sha de trees and fat cattle. It was quite a change going from a winter y clima te to a place like this. It was a great thing to a boy of 17. I t hink tha t the combined forces that were at work on me at that time was t he best e ducation that I could have had. I was in poor health most of th e time w e were there but the social and church conditions were good fo r me.
Five months after we arrived, father died. He had been working on a buil d ing that he had contracted to build, came home in the evening and abou t 2 :00 a.m. the next morning he took sick with the same old pain in hi s ches t that he had suffered with so many years. About 8:00 a.m. he call ed me t o his room and told me that he could live no longer. He gave me h is gol d watch and chain and showed me how to wind it and said, “Now I a m goin g in by mother’s bed to sit, you play my favorite tune on the guit ar. No w do not shed a tear for mother’s sake.” I did as he ask me and ha d playe d the tune through once and started it again when he started to f all fro m the chair. I dropped my guitar and caught him from falling on t he floor . He passed away right there. The Mexican government require d a lot of fo rmalities at the death of a newcomer and I had to ride t o a distant tow n to make the arrangements with the Mexican officials . I had to buy groun d enough to bury the family. This took an unusual am ount of time and mone y. We were in poor financial condition but the peop le of Juarez will neve r be forgotten for the help they gave us. The fune ral services were grand . Father was still bishop of the Showlow ward whe n he died. He died Augus t 4, 1901.
We were not satisfied there and wanted to return home. Mother was getti n g better. She had been suffering with jaundice and Dr. Roberts had giv e n her medicine that helped. We sold what few things we had accumulate d an d borrowed $75.00 from my brother Neils and took the train for home . We l eft there in December. We stayed in Snowflake that winter.
As soon as we arrived in Snowflake I went to work for Neils. He was buil d ing a store for Ezra Richards in Joe City, also a church house. I work e d 75 days to pay for the $75.00 we borrowed. The next summer we move d t o our ranch in Woodland where we were living before we left. I trie d to r aise a garden in Dad;s old garden spot at the beginning of the spr ing . I worked in Snowflake for Niels burning clay for cement and helpin g Nei ls plaster. I would come home on horseback weekends and work at hom e.
While living with Neils I read some books that he thought I should re a d – “The Royal Path of Life”, “Little Foxes Spoil the Vines:, “Great Tr ut hs”, and “Preaching and Public Speaking”. I was at an age when I neede d t he help and advice of a father and Neils took me in hand and helped m e co rrect some of the wrong habits. He was a hard task master but it wa s prob ably just what I needed. I owe much to him for the good books he p laced b efore me and the help he gave me. I was thinking of the girls mor e than a nything else at that time – and in particular how I dressed an d how my ha ir was combed. I feel that should I have kept at this all thr ough my lif e I would probably have been better off. What a shame it is n ot to teac h children how to care for their health and a greater shame i t is when ch ildren will not listen to the teaching of their parents an d older people.
The years of 1903 and 1904 were very dry years, most of the springs dri e d up, even the Pinetop spring. We had to haul water for culinary use . I w as helping my brother-in-law Eph Penrod make shingles with a hors e powe r shingle mill. We had to take our horses 3 or 4 miles to grass an d the n get them in the morning and grain them a little. Cattle were poo r and w ork was scarce. About all the work there was in the country was w ith catt le and sheep men.
Work was h ard to get and I kept thinking of going to the mines in Glo b e to work but hated to go away from home and leave mother in her condit io n. Andrew and I did some freighting from Holbrook to Ft. Apache but i t wa s not satisfactory and it took us too long to make the trips with po or ho rses and wagons.
In 1905 I went to work again for Neils who had moved to Showlow at the t i me of the Hunning purchase of Showlow. I worked there that fall and win te r. Hans went on a mission in 1902 and returned in March 1905. I was a t Ne ils’ and had been working on the ditch above the Lon Merrill place w ith p ick and shovel all day and was ill besides. He arrived at Neils’ ab out 10 :00 p.m. after I had gone to bed as I was too ill to eat supper. H ans wok e me and wanted me to walk home with him that night as he had n o other wa y of going. I told him that I did not feel like it but he kep t insistin g so I told him I would try. We walked as far as Lon Merrill’ s and stoppe d there to rest and get warm. It was a cold night and mud an d snow ankl e deep. I laid down in front of the fireplace and wished tha t I did not h ave to go any farther for I was already tired but Hans insi sted that we g o on. I did fairly well until we got about two miles on ou r way. I was ti red and told Hans that I could never make it another eigh t miles and tha t he could go on but I was going back. He insisted tha t I go on and tha t he would help me. I wanted to sit down and rest awhil e but he would no t let me – he knew that if I ever sat down he would b e unable to get me u p to go on. We trudged on for another three miles an d I told him to go o n as I was going to rest until morning. He knew tha t I would freeze to de ath if I stayed there so he let me rest a few minu tes then on we went. Th inking that I would drop in my tracks every minut e, I kept pleading wit h him to go on without me but he continued to hel p me the best he could i n the slippery mud although every step was tortu re to me. The nearer we g ot to home the thought spurred me on and we fin ally arrived there at 2:0 0 p.m. I crawled into bed and did not get up ag ain for several days .
I finally decided that I would go to Globe and work. I bade my mother a n d sister goodbye and left with a four horse team and wagon. After I go t t here I worked for wages for a few days then went to hauling ore fro m th e Gibson mine to the Old Dominion with a six horse team, passing thr oug h Miami which was then hardly more than a few scattered saloons, mile s ap art.
When I quit hauling ore I rented 16 burros and 4 horses and went into t h e Pinal mountains to haul wood out to Globe. I had a partner, Ed Hastin gs , and we took with us my brother Jim, Geo. Woolford, Lee Penrod and a n el derly man Charlie Benson. This was a dare devil job as the mountain s wer e very steep and the timber thick. We could only take the wagons u p par t way and then had to bring the wood down the mountains with the an imal s to the wagons. We did a good job of getting the wood for it was pl entif ul and the railroad had been washed out and coal was scarce. Wood b rough t a good price. When spring came and I went into town to figure u p the ea rnings I found that my partner who had stayed in town to take ca re of th e delivering and collecting was a crook. Our books had been dest royed, th e money gambled away, and even my trunk had been ransacked an d all my kee psakes and things I treasured had been taken out. I found ou t too late th at it does not pay to put trust in a partner without a writ ten contract.
I was blue for I had expected to get a wedding stake out of it as I wa s t o meet the girl that I had been corresponding with in Mexico at Mes a an d we had planned to get married. I sold all that I had except my blu e mar e and set out to meet her. When we met and I told her about my har d luc k she was no longer interested in me so we parted. I have always fe lt tha t the hand of God was in the whole thing from the time I left hom e unti l I returned.
After our parting I began to wonder where to look next for a girl I wou l d want for a wife. I thought back over all the girls I had known and no n e could I recall held my attention save one and I had never been friend l y or had many associations with her, yet her family background was wh a t I wanted. The question in my mind was would she even care for me?
I found a job with Will Amos 40 miles out on the desert where he was lam b ing his sheep. His brother Len Amos, who had come from Globe with me w a s working in the same camp. The first thing that I was asked to do wh e n I got in camp was to cook supper for the lambing crew. I had never co ok ed for a crew and knew very little about it but I said nothing and di d a s I was asked. I remembered some of the things that I had seen my mot he r do in cooking and everyone seemed to survive my try at it. In the de ser t, sheep, burros and Mexicans were my constant companions. Once eac h da y I would make a trip to the foot of the Superstition mountains fo r water . I would leave all the burros in camp except one to carry the wa ter. Th e reason for this was that the camp was far into the desert an d I could n ever find it but my good old faithful burro with his mates i n camp woul d always know the way. This was in February and March and th e desert wa s a beautiful place to be. The rains that came made the deser t a great pl ace to be and I enjoyed it except I was getting homesick.
When the lambing was over in the desert, Len and I were hired by Claren c e Morrow to cross the mountains on burros by way of Tonto Basin to hel p h im lamb his sheep on his ranch 15 miles west of Pinedale. This was i n Mar ch and the thaw was on and it seemed that all the water was flowin g int o Salt River. It had to be crossed high as it was. We pulled our ca mp out fit and saddles across on a cable but the horses and burros had t o cross . We went up the river several miles and hired a Mexican to tak e lead o f the burros as they crossed. I was riding my pet mare old Blu e (she wa s a blue roan mare). I will never forget what a hard time we ha d gettin g the burros to face that terrible current of water and it wa s a foolis h thing to do but we had been hired to do it and with the thou ght tha t I was headed for home there was no turning back. From where w e crosse d you could not see the other side of the river as it was broke n up int o two or three swift streams and was very wide. I think that i t must hav e been at least a mile below where we started when we came out . I went un der several times in the crossing but good old faithful Blu e took me safe ly across. The government men who measured the water and l ived on the nor th side of the river told us that we had been very foolis h to even try t o cross it as there had been many men and horses drown tr ying to cross i t when it was not that high. Safe on the other side, we p ut off into an u nknown country to us. We had plenty of food and a littl e grain for my mar e but feed was very scarce on the mountain. We kept ou r trail very well u ntil after we left Tonto, then we missed the trail an d were lost. The da y we got lost I let Len ride my mare and I rode the b urro. When the mar e would not do as he wanted her to do, he would beat h er over the head an d I could not stand her treated that way and told hi m so. He was hot temp ered and sulked for days. We finally came to a shal e slide where we coul d not see the bottom, but we pushed our animals of f and down we went. I t did not prove to be as dangerous as it looked bu t at the bottom was a b ox canyon which was very narrow and we sometime s had to take our packs of f to get through. This trail led us to a valle y called Queen Back which w as many miles off our course. We traveled al l day and camped in some of t he roughest country I have ever been in. So on after we had bedded dow n a band of wild horses came by and my mare we nt off with them. The nex t morning while Len was getting breakfast I wen t to look for the horse bu t could not find her. When I got back to cam p the burros were all packe d and ready to go, and go they did and left m e sitting in my saddle. I di dn’t know what to do but knew that Len woul d go right on. I prayed to th e Lord for help and in a few minutes I hear d the horse bell and she cam e back into camp as fast as she had gone . I gave her a little grain and s addled up and soon overtook the pack tr ain.
I worked for Morrow until June. I’d never been so homesick before or sin c e and when I was finished I started home. I did not follow the road, b u t cut through and came into the main road on the Scott Flat. There I s a w my brother Andrew and uncle Dick Hansen leading some bronco horses th a t they had gotten out of the roundup at the Hunning coral. I talked t o th em several minutes before Andrew recognized me for I had a heavy gro wth o f whiskers. As soon as I arrived home Mother saw to it that my whis kers d isappeared.
My life at this time seemed to be a medley of drama and serious thought s , 22 years old, no job, no money, and no gal – just a prospect in mind . A bout the first thing that I did was to buy a cow from Rone Adair fo r $35. 00 with part of the $70.00 I had saved from the sheep. With a bi g world a ll rosy to me, a light heart and heavy burden, I put out to see , having p lenty of confidence as I headed my ship for the long and happ y journey o f matrimony. I decided to try for the girl that I had been th inking of an d hoping to go with, and finally did make the grade. We ha d two years o f courtship, which did not always run smooth, at least ther e were sometim es when I thought the ship was going to capsize, but somet hing always hap pened to calm the troubled waters.
After I came home I worked around Lakeside and vicinity. I helped pu t u p the telephone poles for the 1st telephone line from Holbrook. It wa s do ne by a group of people who got together to put one in. It was not m uch o f a system, as there was not adequate money to run it properly, bu t it wa s still a great help to the communities in this part of the count ry. Alth ough the communities were small a good number of folks had telep hones. Ne ils was one of the promoters as he was always very community mi nded an d a number of men had purchased the Will Amos ranch and were maki ng a com munity of the place. Some of the men who came here first were J . L. Fish , Pratt Larson, Lewis E. Johnson, and John Heber Hansen. The ra nch was pu rchased in the year 1906 by these men, later Charles L. Rhoto n and other s came in. Neils was the big man in it and he lived in the ho use that Amo s had lived in. The house and ranch was farther north of th e Woodland com munity. It was located near the edge of the lake which ha d been build a y ear or two before the purchase of the ranch. The lake wa s build by the Sh owlow irrigation Co. on the Showlow Creek for the purpo ses of retaining t he water of the Showlow Creek to make more land in Lak eside, Showlow, an d Scott flat usable for farming purposes – most of th e land along the cre ek had been used for dry farming.
I also worked at sawmilling, both logging and working on the mill. Cas h w as scarce and the pay that I would get would be credit at the only tw o st ores in the country—McCoys at Pinetop which was run by an elderly ma n b y the name of McCoy, and one at Showlow which was a branch of the ol d A.C .M.I. in Holbrook and Snowflake. I worked at anything that I coul d get t o do and took lumber or any kind of produce for pay. I raised a l ittle ga rden as we owned some water in the Pinetop-Woodland Irrigation C o. an d I was able to use a little bit for irrigation. My brother Andre w an d I lived at home with my Mother and we were to share equal in the e xpens e of keeping Mother and May but when he left home I was left with t he gre ater part of the debt.