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Did Ben Franklin Really Have a Key Role in Bringing Broomcorn to America?
In the talks I have given about broomcorn I have always mentioned that Benjamin Franklin is often credited with bringing broomcorn to America in the 1700s. This concept is usually presented as fact, but it turns out that whether this is true or not is actually up for debate. I introduced you to some of…
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Broomcorn Research Progress 2007: by Dr. Sam Moyer
Reposted with Permission by Dr. Sam Moyer. Although there hasn’t been broomcorn production in Baca County for many years, there actually has been quite a bit of research done in the not so recent past. My newest broomcorn acquaintance is Dr. Sam Moyer, a geneticist and a broom maker from New Jersey. Dr. Moyer has…
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I would rather be in a Tulsa Jail than cutting broomcorn…
We know that harvesting broomcorn was a hard itchy process but at my “Broomcorn Capital” presentation 2 years ago Shorty Miller may have driven the point home when he told us that one broomcorn Johnnie told him, I would rather be in a Tulsa Jail than cutting broomcorn. I haven’t posted much broomcorn info lately…
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Bear Tracks & Cactus Trees: More Info on Life in Early Baca County
Hi there! I’m Heidi, Kent’s wife. I swiped this blog for a minute so I could tell you about a great book filled with Baca County history. I grew up in Balko, Oklahoma and until recently I thought Kent was my only connection with Baca County. My parents recently surprised me with a book they…
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A memory that makes me smile… By Debbie Kuroiwa
This memory is reposted with permission from the Kuroiwa Family Blog (Thanks Deb). This is one of my favorite pictures of all time…. This is me and my grandfather. Though I grew up in the same area as my grandparents, I didn’t really grow up with them. Oh…I knew who they were but….not really. My…
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Clay Creek: By George Chatham
By George Chatham First of all my apologies to the “Wondering, Banished, Exiled, and Lost Souls of Baca County, Colorado” (Facebook)group since most of this post took place across the county line in Powers County. I spoke of the “Clay Creek” place in the previous post. The “Clay Creek” place Fred & Ethel Chatham moved…
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Granddad’s Adobe House: by George Chatham
By George Chatham Since lumber wasn’t readily available to the homesteaders, most homes were made of sod or adobe blocks. Sod was created by using a knife sled apparatus pulled behind a horse or team of horses which cut about an 18” wide by 3” or 4” thick slab of buffalo grass sod. Uncle Elder’s…
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The Dust Bowl Days: by George Chatham
The Dust Bowl Days: by George Chatham As I shared in an earlier post the Elmer & Lela Chatham family left Baca County and moved to Power’s county sometime in the mid 1920’s. My grandparents (Fred and Ethel Chatham) moved from the “dug-out” on Fred’s homestead to Elmer Chatham’s homestead March 13, 1924. The reason…
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“Hand Dug Wells” by George Chatham
By George Chatham In the area where my granddad Chatham and Great Uncle Elmer homesteaded there were no live springs or natural water holes to obtain water for household use or for the livestock to drink. So it meant that one of the first priorities of homesteading was digging a well. The two homestead wells…
