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The Old Stone Schoolhouse in Springfield
“…the handiwork on that building – during those times – defies description.” -Aug Blanchat We’ve talked many times about the old Springfield School our social media groups and how it was built in 1889 by the Swiss Stonemason Joseph Blanchat. This is an update to the previous blog. The building served as the elementary and…
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A 2014 Thank You for Telling Your Stories
In this era when people expect information at their fingertips and instant response to everything, our local history, local stories and local collections which are so rich in history and cultural heritage are increasingly inaccessible. Issues such as budget cuts and staff reductions are the usual culprits but part of this inaccessibility is also occurring…
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So Where is the Broomcorn Capital of the World?
What is Broomcorn? I have had several conversations about recording local history as we are doing with Bacacountyhistory.com. Anytime the topic of broomcorn has come up with someone not from Baca County there is inevitably the question “What’s that?” Therefore, if any of you reading this are not from Baca County or one of the…
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Orville Ewing’s Travels: The Animals
Before we head into Orville’s travels during the 1940’s let’s take a peek at the the animal menagerie which served as Orville’s traveling companions over the years. This is the group that provided quite a background for those wishing to take pictures with him. The ox, burros, donkeys and/or mules were obviously used to pull…
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Orville Ewing’s Travels: The 1930’s
I mentioned in a previous post the large number of Orville Ewing postcards available for sale online, but there are also over 300 newspaper references to his 30 plus years of travel. UPDATE: April 2020. This past week I received another scan of the picture above. Since we already have it the picture isn’t that big…
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Were the Dirty Thirties the Good Old Days?
Posted with permission of Gloria Jean. Original article appeared in the Huckaby Times (Cousin Newsletter), April 2004 On Sunday April 14th, 1935, the sun came up in a clear sky. The day was warm and pleasant, a gentle breeze whimpered out of the southwest. Suddenly a cloud appeared on the horizon. Birds flew swiftly ahead…
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Tools of the Lost Trade: The Broomcorn Knife
The knives were razor sharp and they wrapped their thumbs with the old style electrician’s tape (friction tape). Each night they would set around and sharpen their knives. -Ted Burhenn NOTE: This was originally posted in 2014. This update changes the name to”Tools of the Lost Trade”, referencing the long gone broomcorn industry. This update…
