Robert (Bob) & Oda Alexanders' Oral Histories

Description

Davine Pera interviews Bob & Oda Alexander on April 17, 1990. At first, the family history is discussed (please see Bob Alexander's genealogy). Here is the transcript of this recording: History and birthdates of Alexanders and their parents. Oda started school in Crawford, Co., then moved to San Miguel in 1906 where she attended school, finishing the 8th grade. She attended high school in Telluride where she graduated in 1913. Bob left Virginia as a young man. He rode the train to Telluride, stayed 1 week, then moved to Montrose for 3 years, then back to Telluride. He worked on a ranch on Turkey Creek mesa for Mr. Lawson for a while, then moved to San Miguel and worked for Mrs. Collins on her dairy ranch. Mrs. Alexander's father died in 1916 but her mother kept the dairy ranch and ran it. Oda related the story of delivering milk as a young girl, her horses ran away and spilled all the milk. She describes how milk was sold to stores and cafes. Talks about how father built the dairy farm at San Miguel. Bob bought John Daniels ranch after he returned from the service. They moved to Deep Creek and ran the dairy there tor 2 years and then moved to Keystone and lived there until 1927. Talks about all the big dairy farms in the area. They speak of delivering milk to the Tomboy mine on tram buckets. Oda describes her trip by train to Telluride from Virginia in 1902 at the age of 8. Recalls crossing the Mississippi River. Her uncle met them at the train in Delta with a team of horses and wagon. It took 2 days to get to Crawford. She lived at Crawford for 1 year, then moved to San Miguel where her father worked for Mc Knights dairy. Oda speaks about her school years and walking from San Miguel to town every day. Her graduating class consisted of 9 girls and 1 boy. Speaks of the courses that were taught including German and Latin. She mentions different classmates. Sometimes her friend's father took them to school on sleigh pulled by horses if weather was bad. The school stopped teaching German when World War l began. Sports consisted of basketball. The teams rode on the train to Ridgeway and Norwood to play their out of town games. Speaks of the train schedule. She rode the train to Montrose to meet Bob when he returned from the service. Bob and Oda were married at San Miguel at her mother's house. Mr. and Mrs. Frank Brown were witnesses. They rode the train to Salt Lake City for their wedding trip. Bob speaks of milking 25 to 30 cows every day by hand, Bob milked 19 cows in 1 hour. They shipped cream to creamery in Montrose on the train in 5 gal. cans and were paid $5 or $6 for one 5 gallon can of cream, and $1 for 10 quarts of milk. Describes the dairy process and how the cooler worked and the procedure for bottling milk in different size bottles. Had to wash bottles every night to be ready for the next day. Memories of running the dairy. They speak of long hours and hard work. In 1927 they went into the sheep business and moved to Norwood in 1939. They speak of different ranches they used for grazing. The Campbell Bros. sheared sheep for them. They received a permit to run sheep on public domain. They went into sheep business after pasteurization of milk became necessary. Speaks of the changes in Telluride now. Bob and Oda talk about traveling to different places after their retirement. They spent their winters in New Mexico for several years. When their daughter graduated from high school, they took the Senior class to Mexico City. They went to Europe in 1956 when their son was stationed in Paris. Bob speaks of the time he spent in the service in World War I. He was ready to go to the front line when the Armistice was signed. Names & Places mentioned: Jacob Alexander, Collins, W. Sampson, Jake Lawson, Frank Brown, John Daniels, Ed Spor, Dr. Brown, Goldsworthy, Oscar Mine, Hoag, Breckenridge, Kelly McKnight, Sam Harman, Emmet Hookman, John McKnight, Claude Jacob, Florence Miser, Mrs. Atterholt, Frank Brown, Campbell Bros., Yates Nardine, J. Porterfield, Finnegan, and Whiteley.