Baca County History

by the Plainsman Herald

Tag: Pritchett

  • Orville Ewing meets Former Baca Countian in Klamath Falls Oregon, 1959

    Orville Ewing meets Former Baca Countian in Klamath Falls Oregon, 1959

    There are literally thousands of Orville Ewing references in newspapers across the country between 1938 -1971, but this one caught my attention as it references a man named Frank Cotton who apparently as a boy lived in Baca, who rode around with Ewing on a mail-delivering beat when he was a youngster in Colorado.. I […]

  • Baca County’s Connection to 1939 Czechoslovakia: Another Unusual Baca County Dust Bowl story.

    Baca County’s Connection to 1939 Czechoslovakia: Another Unusual Baca County Dust Bowl story.

      The Sudetenland, a region located in the western part of what was Czechoslovakia (The Czech Republic until 2016, and is now called Czechia) has a long and complicated history that has been marked by controversy and conflict. The area is known for its cultural diversity, and strategic importance, which has made it a coveted […]

  • Joy Coy, Colorado & the Coming of the Railroad

    “Nearly everything lives in a hole in the ground; the rattlesnakes, prairie dogs, owls, ground-squirrels, and even the people.” -Letter from Joy Coy Colorado, 1916 Pritchett, Colorado lies in the extreme Southeast part of Colorado.  There is not a lot of activity there these days. There is a school, a bar, a hotel for providing […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • Orville Ewing’s Odyssey Begins

    Orville Ewing called himself  an “artist from the Old West”. He crisscrossed the United States in his covered wagon/trailer with his menagerie for about 30 years, selling literally thousands upon thousands of different postcards of himself over the years and described in my previous post  “Orville Ewing’s Postcards”  A sample is shown below: Orville’s own […]

  • Orville Ewing’s Postcards

    I don’t live in Baca County Colorado anymore, but it is the place where I grew up and still call home. It will always be home. This mini writing adventure began after I shared the picture below of my grandma holding what I now believe to be Orville Ewing’s wooden rifle in front of his […]