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Budde & Art Freeman Interviewer April Bernard September 12, 2002
Tape 1 Can you tell me some places that you have lived during your lifetime? Budde Victor. Fairplay. Colorado Springs. Three? Budde Yes. Okay. The person that I had yesterday had – must have had ten! Oh my gosh! Budde No, I (inaudible) and I stayed that close. I have to. Budde I can’t see anything any better. Neither do I. My husband says I’m picky but … Budde: Well, when you’re 82, so… Oh are you? Budde: Way beyond that. Well, let me look at so we can see how goes. Okay. So I know when I spoke with Cara she indicated that she has an interest in attendance in Fairplay at high school? Or did you … Budde: I went to every school there. Oh, okay. So you went to the elementary school, middle school, and high school. Budde: I was gone for one year. Which one? Budde Went to Victor. Okay. When were you gone for one year? Budde In the sixth grade. I had to repeat because I was sick. Oh! What did you have, was it serious? Budde: I had rheumatic fever. Oh you did! Budde At that time, they called pink virus; I’m not sure what they call it now, but it was a nerve condition. Huh! Budde Of course, it causes heart problems and things like that from rheumatic fever. Sure. Budde For some time I didn’t go to school in Fairplay. Okay. So most of the time you were there. So was it Fairplay Elementary, Fairplay Middle School, Fairplay High School or were there different names? Budde No, they were Fairplay. Okay. Let’s see – do you remember some of the names of your classmates today? Some that stand out? Budde Sure. The ones I just go to (inaudible). (Laughter). We all went to school together. There were a few others. Norma ? Euro? Armstrong. I don’t know her last name either. She was one of my real good friends. Hazel Johnson; she’s dead and has been for a long time, but Pauline Jane Briscoe. These are people that, as a little girl, I played with them and Mary Jean of course – Mary Jean Potts. Carey, Arlene, Delawin ?Bragg? Her parents owned the Fairplay Hotel for years. Oh okay. Budde And that was kind of like my second home because I was there a lot with her. Her sister left (inaudible) started the school because I was ill the year before that and I didn’t get out very much. Sure. Budde Let’s see, who else stood out in my classmates? Oh, Roy Peter, Lennon High, Bruce Hand, Carl McCoy, these are the fellows that a lot of them were in the service of course and they went over. So some of those that you mentioned, did you (inaudible) outside of school? Budde Oh yeah. Did you have special places that you would go? I know you mentioned the Fairplay Hotel. Were there other places? Budde Honey, in Fairplay there wasn’t much to do! We had church. Our nucleus was the Community Church and a lot of things were based right from the church. We did things there. They had dances at the Hotel, yes but we went to practically every Saturday night and then as you get older of course, we could go to the bars and dance but that’s not the part of the story that ….(laughter) It was fun though, it really was. It was fun. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Sure. Budde: But then we’d go into houses you know, and just - - we had sleepovers, and we had parties and we kind of made our own fun. We played games all the time. Hide and Go Seek, and Run Sheep Run; those sorts of things. We did in town always and you know, to be at night it didn’t matter because everybody knew us and everybody looked out for us. Sure. Budde There again, it was a special relationship because the whole town seemed like a family. Now did you - - were you involved in like were there clubs at school you know how they have organized… Budde Not a lot. Pep Club when we got into Junior High, mostly for the basketball team. We had no football team at the time and when school was out, the boys worked on the ranches. A lot of them were rancher kids, you know and they had to help their parents. Sure. Budde And so there weren’t many clubs. Later on, they got the Girl Scouts in and of course the Boy Scouts. I wasn’t in that because it wasn’t ‘til after I was older. Oh, that that these clubs came about? Budde Mm-hmm. My sister was a Girl Scout but I wasn’t and I was in Girls Friendly, which was a church group at the time. IT was kind of like Girl Scouts, but I didn’t get to do much with that either because I had to rest a lot. Oh, okay. Budde Mm-hmm. Other than that, going to school was our big thing and going to Sunday School and church and we were always working on a play or a program you know, for the parents and teachers and so that was our big thing. Sure. Budde And then we got the Youth Center when I was a teenager and that was in connection with the church and we got the buildings in and we worked on it, we helped build it and the whole bit and during the War of course, that was our center and they had big (inaudible) camps up there for the Air Force where we entertained soldiers and things and it was just a real community there. Sure. Budde Where our parents would help with the food you know, we always had food and we had dancing there and usually we had a live band. Wow! Budde Maybe one or two pieces you know, but it was live music and then we had cake sales and that sort of thing. I can remember so well you know, Art’s father used to bring the potato chips in from here because they were made here and you could get great enormous bags of (inaudible) potato chips for practically nothing! Wow! Budde To bring in for us. These are the memories that I have that are so clear to me and make me feel so good. Right. Budde We had a Reverend Hellhouse – I don’t’ know if you’ve had anyone mention him or not. I don’t know. Budde He was minister at the Community Church and Kay and I were talking the other day and we both feel that you know, he was the one that really directed our lives. He was different than a lot of people got angry with him, but still, he wanted the kids to be good and they always something going. You were at the ?Mans? or the you know, part of a church groups or we’d just - - or if we wanted to go over there we’d go over there and have a marshmallow roast or something like that …and they were always waiting. Huh. Budde And his sons, the old – in my reunion group, comes almost every year. He lives in Denver and is very, very knowledgeable around the church. What is his name? Budde Larry Hellhouse. Okay. Budde I’ve got – I’ve got the - - well, I’ll get that later. Well no, if you want, you can get to it now. Budde No, at our reunion the other night, I asked permission to give the addresses. Oh, okay. Budde I’ll have to send them to you because I didn’t get them typed up because it’s been kind of a wild week, but I can do that for you Okay. Budde And they gave me permission to give out the addresses. That would be great! Budde Okay? Sure. Now so you said that the church was important, too and you went to school. So was there - - were there also important teachers or role models within the school that you can remember? Budde: Well, there were a lot of teachers of course. A small school like that seems to drive the teachers from the college – they’re the first. The one that is very, very close to my heart is Jane Van Dyke. She’s still alive; she lives in Brush, Colorado and I do have her address, too. She has come to all of our reunions except last year and her health - - she can’t drive for herself and the people who would bring her weren’t coming so I did miss her terribly. There was Kenneth Wilcox, he was a principal and was a teacher before he was principal up there. And Lester Minner. He was a principal. David Teeter was a teacher there of course. From Teeter Elementary. Budde: Mm-hmm, yes. (Laughter) Budde And you know, she had two sons and of course, our parents were all friends with these teachers you know, and were the same age. We all were - - there again, like family and Edith was very, very special to me. Elaine Fabianno was the music teacher that came there about the time the Wart started and she was fabulous. She was a crippled girl and she came to all the reunions I think. She died within the next two years, so … things like that you know, that’s what sticks in my mind. And there are others, but the ones I’ve named are the ones who are special. Sure. Budde And Jane is very special. Re they special for a particular reason like maybe say, introduced you to a particular subject? Budde Well, she was a math teacher I think. Jane was very - - no, she wasn’t math, she was English. Sometimes math and English. Budde Yeah, they’re sometimes alike. They have lots of rules. Budde Yeah. Kenneth was my math teacher in 7th and 8th grade and I - - my father was a very good at math and I just came about it pretty easy you know, and but English was a little harder on me and I was Secretary for the Associated Students in my senior year so I didn’t have to go to English class very often. I always had work in the office to do. (laughter). (Inaudible) Budde Yeah, (inaudible). Let’s see, who else would there be. I should have this in my mind. Oh, that’s all right. Budde That’s probably enough of the teachers. Can you think of a particularly humorous - - some sort of occurrence or event that happened in your school… Budde: To me? Or to anybody else. Budde Well, I’ll tell you. Mr. Wilcox was a very good friend of our family’s. Outside of - - you know, I had to call him Mr. Wilcox in the class but outside of school, we always called him “Pinkie.” He was bald-headed. (laughter). Oh, okay. Budde: But one time, he had a rule in our room that anybody that was - - anybody that tripped somebody else, they got three swats with the paddle in front of the class. I thought I was pretty smart and I thought you know, “Well, I’m his friend, he won’t do that to me,” and I did. I tripped him! And he told me to come up to the front and I wouldn’t do it! So I was kept after school for about three hours. Wow! Budde Finally he said, “I’ve got to go home. My wife’s going to wonder what happened.” And he said, “You’ve got to tell me you’ll not do that again.” I said, “I won’t tell you I won’t do it again. I’ll try not to.” And that’s how I got out of it, but I did get the spanking. Oh you did. Budde Yeah. Wow. Budde Yup. But not in front of the kids (laughter). Well, that’s good. Budde Yeah, that - - we knew it was – we were waiting for. Sure. Budde We had one teacher up there that would – course I didn’t like him a bit, so I don’t want to mention him, but he would hold your hands like this (gesturing) and hit them with a ruler if you did something wrong you know. I mean, it was kind of brutal. Another teacher that I really (inaudible) is Maurie. She was a big woman and an old-maid school teacher but she could handle anything! I got in touch with her, she’s another one I had gotten in touch with years and years after she left Fairplay and visited with every time I’d go to Phoenix. Apparently she has passed away because I’ve lost touch with her and I don’t where she was or … Hmm. You said something about how the War, the Second World War… Budde Well see I – I’m seventy-five years old or will be seventy- five. The young boys were all going to the service and so we didn’t have a lot of boys up there for awhile and they got the airmen in there on bivouac. Well, the first day they were getting there, why, of course they got in touch with our pastor at the church. Somebody had told them that you know, that we had the Youth Center. Well, they were in a camp up Beaver, so they finally get into to town you know, and they told him we had food and all and I can remember my father saying, “You aren’t going to go with a military man.” I was fifteen, sixteen years old and he said, “If I catch him around here I’ll shoot him!” I believed my father! And why I don’t know, but I came home that night from work; I worked at the little grocery there, Alscogg’s Grocery Store on the corner – the little rock store? Okay. Budde: And my father was sitting at the door and he says, “Well, come on in,” and this young serviceman was sitting in my living room because the pastor had told him to come over and meet me because I was on the Council and you know, my dad didn’t even own a gun and I don’t know why I thought he was going to shoot him! (laughter). But it’s always stuck in my mind that my dad was going to shoot that serviceman, but we became very good friends and they were really nice young men and had a lot of fun because then, of course, we had dance partners and we had people to go and be with. How neat. Budde: And that was our one summer up there. No, so did a lot of the boys that went away did a lot of them die then? Budde: No, Jack McCoy was about the only one that was (inaudible) killed in the War, wasn’t it? (speaking to husband in background). Art: Jack McCoy. Budde Uh-huh. Claire’s brother and the barber’s son, Art: Oh, Thompson. Budde: Thompson, mm-hmm, another one. Art: He was the first one killed… Budde: First one killed in service. Oh really. Budde: In some of my papers here I have the information about him. Oh, okay. Budde: But the fellows came back, almost all of them. That’s good. Budde Yeah. Fortunately for the (inaudible) Budde: Oh my gosh, yes. So did you notice - - I’m guessing you probably did but I’m just curious - - so did you notice a difference in the way they acted after they came back? Budde: Of course! They were grown up. Sure. Budde And you know, we were at that age where we thought we were pretty grown-up anyway. (laughter). Art was in the service; I just knew of him; the reason - - were really good friends he was just in a couple of years. How long? Whatever he was signed up for - three years I guess it was. He was in the South Pacific. So he was in the South Pacific? Budde Mm-hmm. Okay. So you and Art went to school with each other throughout the entire time? Budde Yes. So what finally brought you… Budde: My mother - - they came to Fairplay - - what - you in the 5th grade you came to Fairplay? Art: No, ninth grade. Budde: Ninth grade. Oh, he was in the ninth grade. Art: In 1941. Budde: In ’41, he was from Breckenridge. Oh! Okay. Budde: Didn’t like him at all! You didn't! Budde No! Why not? Budde: He was a smart-aleck. Uh-oh (negative). Budde: We used to - - at noon at school we could go in the gym and play volleyball. I always have to tell this story because it is kind of funny. He was also on the basketball team. So we’d go in and of course, the people would be playing ball and he and several of the others were smart alecks because they would play the girls’ positions you know, reach over your head and you’d call and they would hit the ball and that sort of thing. Well, one day, he decided he was going to reach over my head and when I just jumped up to hit the ball at the same time he did, and I set him on fire! He had matches in his pocket and (laughter) My gosh! Budde: (laughter) Oh, I was so embarrassed I wanted to kill him right there! And then he got in trouble because he - - the coach knew that he was smoking. Oohh. Budde: So… there was some nice things but it took me awhile and it wasn’t long after he came back from the service that we ever went together. Oh, okay. That’s neat. That’s funny. Budde: I’ve had several things like that happen. Crazy things. What are some of the other things? Did they happen in Fairplay? Budde: Not most of them. (laughter). Personally. (laughter). I had at one time I was writing to Burton Osborne; I don’t know if you’ve ever heard anything about them or not. His mother was a teacher there and not only had his mother taught in Alma and Fairplay, she had gone to school with my father and my aunt over in Victor. So the families knew each other you know, a little bit. Sure. Budde: But I was writing to Burton while he was in the service and I was also writing to another boy in Victor and when they came back, somehow they were stationed at the same place and something came up through the course talking about girlfriends and they discovered that they were - - I was writing to both of them and it was the same letters! (laughter). So I kind of blew up there! (laughter). Oh well! Budde: But yeah, it was things like that that were kind of strange. Sure. Okay. Budde: I worked in the little grocery store up there from the time I was … End tape one side a Tape one side b Budde I worked in a little grocery store up there from the time I was about twelve years old and I was just stocking shelves and things like that and I had – if you can believe it or not – I had a very bad inferiority complex. Hmm! (Tape pauses for 30 seconds) So you said Mr. … Budde: Alscogg. Owned the store? Budde: And he - - and little by little, he would work me up to the front. Oh. Budde: And I had to cashier. There wasn’t - - I left there. I could run the store; I mean, there were a couple of us girls that worked for him and I could order and everything else for him. He’d go off, his wife wasn’t well and he’d go to Mexico – New Mexico – and take her down there and leave us at the store and at that time, we didn’t realize you know, it was dangerous to carry money places and things. I would walk to the bank and maybe $100,000 wasn’t unusual ‘cause there was one other store, but we also handled lumber and feed and all that kind of stuff, so it was a hard, hard job. Sure. Budde: And I used to have to cut meat and the whole bit! Oh, so you basically did stocking and everything. Budde: Everything. A little of everything. And then I was bookkeeper for a long time, his books. Did you stop working for him when you became eighteen, or when did you stop working for him? Budde: When I got married. Oh, you did, okay. So you worked for him for quite a while then. Budde: Mm-hmm, yeah after I graduated from high school, I went to business school for a short while and then when I came back, why, I went to work in the (inaudible) and the hospital, too. Oh, okay. Budde: Yeah, I was too young to be either place, actually. You know, then they didn’t worry about age because…I was paid a quarter an hour when I first started working! (laughter). Oh! Did you slowly increase the amount (inaudible). Budde: Not a whole lot (laughter). Yes, I did. That’s good. Budde: Yeah, and then when Mr. Alscogg passed away, he left me a legacy. Oh, really? That’s nice. Budde: Mm-hmm. There were two of us up there; Marilyn Smith; Marilyn Johnson and I… and she’s also deceased…enough money. Oh, he left you money. I wondered if he left you the store or something. Budde: No no, just money. That’s cool. Budde: He always told me he would like to see me with $5,000 because I always gave a lot to my sister; you know, I bought bikes and stuff like that that we both could share and he said, “I’d just like to see you with $5,000,” I said, “Well, if you give it to me and I’ll show what I did!” Well, he didn’t get to see me have it, but he did leave me money. (inaudible). Budde: And I really think he helped me a lot to bring me out of my shyness and my backwardness ‘cause he just you know, husband worked there; I had to work there. Right. Budde: And I could do it and he’s the one who told me, “If you decide to do something, you can do anything you want to do,” and that’s kind of my philosophy: do it right and you don’t cheat people. He never cheated anybody in my life and I would never. I worked here, I mean down here (Colorado Springs) as a cook over at Cheyenne School and even a penny I picked up off the floor I would take over to the office and the girl goes, “Why do you always put the money in there?” And I said, “Because it’s not mine. I don’t want it.” I know where I need to work for and what I was going to get and I said, “I don’t take money that’s not mine.” I tried to teach my kids the same thing. Sure. Budde: Honesty is the only way. Right. So you worked at the store; were there other places that kids worked around Fairplay?? Budde: Yeah, the telephone - - of course, they had telephone operators and then Pollcock’s had a store and Art’s sister worked at Pollcock’s and I worked at Alscogg’s, my sister worked with the telephone company for awhile and Kay worked at the telephone company, so … and then of course, the hotels would hire them as waitresses and things like that. Sure. Budde: But there again, the community was very youth-oriented in that if there was something came up, we could always make arrangements to take part in what going on for the youth for the school or church and I never felt I missed anything by working. It was always good. That’s good. Budde: But what I have to give Fairplay and the community a lot of respect. My father was an invalid and of course, didn’t get out much and the town of Fairplay looked after us. Now Kay Zenkle used to - - he’s the first one I guess that taught us ever drinking anything, you know… Uh-oh. Budde: Liquor… and he ordered us both out of his bar, swatted us on the bottom and said, “Now you’re going home and tell your mother what you’ve done!” And I did. I knew I had … but as I said, these are the things I’ll cherish. If I hadn’t, you know, I’d have been doing something else! So I really give the community and the area a lot of respect. I feel they really helped guide my life. Sure. Budde: My father was wonderful when he was - - but he was very limited in what he could do. Did he have a particular sickness? Budde: Oh yeah. He had multiple sclerosis. Oh! Budde: He was the 27th diagnosed case and he was a guinea pig for years you know, just trying different things and then he was also diabetic and he only - - he died when he was only 39 years-old. Oh. (inaudible) Budde: And he’d already in a wheelchair for something like twelve years. Wow. Budde: So you know, we, as a (inaudible) and father, we never got to do many things together. He went to one basketball game that I can remember after I was in the Pep Squad and when the ball came toward him and they stopped the game… and they would go back and start over and this upset him. He said he could have hit the ball and got it out of the way. He didn’t want them stopping the games. He went to one movie after he became an invalid and they moved the rows of seats out of the theater and that also upset him and he wouldn’t go again. He said, “No, he didn’t want to be treated like other people,” but he was the only cripple in town! The only person that was crippled up there but …he’d get on the floor and play with us kids; play jacks and monopoly and that sort of thing all the time. Sure. Budde: Kay would say, “I remember your dad so well, because he would play with us and just - - everything.” Like I said, the whole community helped raise us. Right. Now I didn’t know that there was a movie house up there. Budde: Oh yes, there was a theater. Where was that at? Budde: It was - let me think – the Brown Burro Motel; it was right up the street from that. I’m trying to think what’s there now – right in back of the school. Wow, okay. Budde: Yeah and we also used it for a roller-skating rink. Oh. Budde: They’d move the chairs out and have roller-skating night. Okay. Budde: And then we roller-skated in Alma, the old ? Reg Zade?? Hall and we used to roller-skate up there. So you want me to stop it so you can… Budde: Okay, that’s all right. I bet there was plenty to do. Budde: We always had something to do. Like I said, we had - - and then my girlfriend’s parents owned the hotel; they would - - we would have taffy pulls and they would assign one waitress. This one lady worked for them for years and she was the one that always was with us to make candy and birthday parties; that’s where we all learned to eat steak, (laughter) and cut the steak up you know. Oh! Budde: How to be ladies…so we really did. We always had something we were doing… and picnics was a big thing; hikes. There was one time, Burton and I were going together; we’d go up to Alma. We’d walk to Alma. Wow! That’s a walk. Budde: Yeah. But you know, when you’re young, you can do anything! (laughter). Right, right. Now did you have any special picnic spots that you would go to or frequent? Budde: Across the river there, what we called “The Gulch.” We’d go on the other side and there’d be aspens there and have our big steak fry or our hamburger fry, usually until meat was rationed. And that was in World War II? Budde: Mm-hmm (affirmative). In what other ways did World War II affect your life? We talked about you know, boys going away. Budde: Yeah, well rationing was the big thing. We never did without. I mean, we might have to cut things back, but we always - our families - kind of used to hard times I think! Because we always managed to have food and a lot - - I know there were people that hoarded, which wasn’t right, but still, we didn’t hurt too badly. If we wanted to drive someplace, the people that drove would band together and we’d all take a car and whoever drove, we’d then we’d give stamps to help pay for the gas and if they needed tires, we’d do the same. Sure. Budde: And that’s how we did things. It just was all together. I can’t remember if ever doing without anything. I wonder… silk stockings maybe.(laughter). We used a lot of leg paint. Leg paint. Budde: Yeah. Really. Budde: Yeah, it’s like tanning lotion that you would put on and it would leave the color on your legs. Oh, okay. Budde: Now I just had a quiz at the reunion wanting to know if they remembered about leg paint and they mentioned the fact that - - wanted to know if anybody ever remembered using the eyebrow pencil for the seam up the back? I didn’t do that. I didn’t remember that! I wouldn’t of even have thought of that! That’s funny. Budde: You improvise! (laughter) Sure. Budde: I was working at the store when or getting away from school That’s alright. Budde: At the grocery store when they started the burrow races and the first year that they had that, a group of us went to Leadville to sell tickets because the went clear to Leadville at the time and back. Wow. Budde: Over the Pass, you know and there were two of us that were old enough go out that night, so the councilman from Leadville had a party for us. We wore white shorts – I can remember in donkey years – you know, like the Mickey Mouse things, and there selling chances on the races and they had this party for us. We got in on time to wash our faces and go right back out and start selling and they weren’t very happy with us there but… Oh. Budde: They let us go anyway and it was fun; we had a good time. And when was that – that first race; do you know? Budde: Mmm, good Lord. Forty… was it before you came home from the service? Art: ’46. Budde: Six I think. 1946, okay. Budde: Mm-hmm. Another time, we had Conoco Gas; Kay’s uncle was also the bulk dealer and so he sponsored us one year for a float and we dressed up as all the different types of gas, you know – like Ethanol and I got to wear the longest name. I had the biggest bosom to put the banner across and I became “Miss Tour Aid!” (Laughter) How funny! Budde: It was! It was crazy and things you know, that we always – everybody was in on it; our parents, friends – it was great. So are there big events that the town celebrated together? We talked the burros and you said something about the float. Were there any other things? Budde: That was for the parade, uh-huh. Now was that in the fall or when was that? Budde: No, in the summer. So it was connected with the Burro … Budde: Yeah, usually. Okay. Budde: And there was the “Nights in - - in ’94?” It was a costume party for Fairplay years ago. Of course, had the Chinese in there that were the wash people and they worked in the mines. There were Indians, cowboys, dance hall girls, so you would pick one of the groups and dress up in that costume for the evening and every place in town had a band and had a party. Wow! Budde: And it was fun. You’d just drift around town all night long you know. Right. Budde: And that was when I was a little older, however. Oh, I might have been seventeen then (laughter). But the parents – everybody went. Now was that in the fall or the winter? Budde: Oh, I’m trying to think… seems like maybe it was closer to fall. When we were little kids of course, the whole town, we had Halloween parties and then as we got older, then it became more fun to go out and maybe turn over an outhouse or (laughter ) or dump a trash can in the filling station area, you know. Sure. Budde: And we always had a competition with Alma and I know one year, we went up there and pushed the Alma wagon; it was just a big old wagon that they had there in town – pushed it in the river. Uh-oh. Budde: And they would come down and tie bicycles to the flagpole, just little things like that. But it was fun. So was there - - I’m guessing there was a school in Alma too, so was there a rivalry between the two schools? Budde: Oh yeah. Did they do more stuff kind of like that where you said you had a rivalry and you would push the wagon into the river? Budde: Yeah, we’d do something else, yeah but it wasn’t destructive, you know. Just for fun? Budde: Yeah, mostly and then if we beat them, it was wonderful because then you went out and the whole town - - it was just fun. So then you played them in basketball? Is that … Budde: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Okay. Budde: And then they consolidated the County so they had to come to Fairplay to school. I think the year that Burton graduated, I believe is the last year they had school in Alma. Were you in school when they consolidated those two? Budde: Mm-hmm. (affirmative) How did that go? Were there kids well-received? Budde: Oh yeah. At one time there was the rivalry. Budde: No, but they were because we all knew each other so well. Sure. Budde: We were close enough that everybody knew everybody. Right. Budde: And it was very congenial. Like I said, it’s something that I will always treasure that upbringing I had in a little town. I don’t even know my neighbors here, you know. I know a few of them; the ones I want to know, but up there, it was just family. You knew everybody. Budde: Yeah. Carrie was telling me the other day, she said, “You know, when I was a kid,” - of course her mother was burned to death. Oohh. Budde: And she was raised by her grandmother and her father and my mother and she said, “I’d go around town toward dinnertime and whoever had the best meal going, that’s where I stayed for supper!” (Laughter). But then I think we all did that somewhat. Yeah. I can remember doing that: “What are you guys having for supper?” Budde: “I can stay!” (laughter) and (inaudible) kind of crazy like that and I used to curl her hair and it was just so easy and my dad was always wanting to play with us and play jacks and whatever we wanted to play. You said he died when you … Budde: Seventeen, eighteen. And you still had some younger siblings? Budde: My sister. She was three years younger than I and so I helped where I could and then my mother remarried. Oh, okay. Budde: And then she had another baby and he was our little pride and joy, our whole family. My sister and I adored this baby and his father died when he was four years old, so he and my mother came here and lived with us for quite a while. We raised our family and him, too. Wow. Budde: With my mother … and our house was always open; anybody that wanted to come there was always invited in, you know. And did you find that experience (inaudible) Budde: Yeah, oh yeah. They just opened… Budde: Yeah. Sure. If we’d get mad at somebody, why, then it was a little different, but it wasn’t the parents; it was the kids. Right. Budde: And there was always rivalry for the boys in town. Do you remember any particular fights with girlfriends over a boy? Budde: No. I was always short and chunky. I wasn’t the most popular person in the world, but I was alright. His is first girlfriend (inaudible) she was a doll. I’d rather this not be said. Oh, you don’t have to if you don’t want to. That’s alright. Budde: I told her that (inaudible) I guess it wouldn’t matter, but she was a cute little blonde and I was curvaceous, you know, and then and after we left school, we didn’t see her for a long time. They came back to one of our reunions and I have to admit I was very, very skeptical. It had been awhile and after you’ve been married 35 years, all of us - - but when she walked in and she registered and then she went out, I said, “Oh good! She’s fatter than me!” That’s the one thing that I can remember saying! (Laughter) Oh, don’t you love that. Budde: I asked God to forgive me for that little … I can understand. Budde: Yeah. Sometimes you feel that way. Budde: It felt so good. She was always so cute and she’s the sweetest lady in the world; I just love her to death and I always did. We always got along fine, but that was one time that I let my emotions get a little heavy. (laughter). Understandable. Budde: I hope so! I did tell the story at the reunion the other night. One of our girls was saying her husband had gone to his reunion and didn’t recognize his old girlfriend; at least that’s what he said and then we were teasing him, you know. Sure! Budde: Yeah! How wouldn’t you remember her. We always had a good time up there. Of course, I had sad times because my - - it seemed like I was always going to somebody’s house and having to stay there and my dad would have to go to the hospital ‘cause they always took him to Denver. Oh, okay Budde: And you know, that specialist up in Fairplay but still, it was a good childhood. I thank God that I was - - my parents had the foresight to be in a little town, but what else could they do? Daddy’ was born in Victor, so it was small towns – that’s all he ever knew. Is that why you think your parents chose Fairplay because it was a smaller or did they say? Budde: No. I think Daddy was offered a job in the grocery store and took it. It was just survival, I believe. And of course, he worked for Zeke King at the bulk gas. I can remember when I was about five or six years old - - well, the winters were horrible up there, you know and light snow always - - and my dad would go down and haul gas back to Fairplay in the gas truck and I would be his crutch. He would lean on me to get through the track and I would go to Denver with him and we’d come back and he’d never have to get out of the truck. They just did all the paperwork and everything for him there but that was special time for me and my dad because I was with him and he trusted me to be with him, you know; to be his crutch. Sure. Budde: And we always had fun. We always had a picnic in the truck; stopped and have our lunch on the way back, but he couldn’t get out of the truck by himself and I was too little to get him out, so we’d sit in the truck and have our lunch … and at that time, he had to have his insulin shots and he’d do that, but these times were time that I’ll always cherish - time I got to be with my father. He used to love to work on radios and he’d take a typewriter apart and put them together and he had a double- keyboard typewriter and he wrote articles for the Fairplay paper once and awhile. Oh, he did! Budde: Uh-huh. Okay. Budde: And so we were always fixing the typewriter or something. Well, then his hands and arms got so he couldn’t even use them and I was his hands and arms and his eyes. I did a lot of the things for him and we’d work together by the hours. He’d show me what to do to put things back together. That’s great. Budde: Yeah. And he would dry dishes. That was my job every night to wash dishes and Daddy dried them always. It was always fun! To this day, I don’t mind washing dishes and I think it was because we had fun when we did it. Sure. Budde: I’d go over to the ranch, where - - well, we went with my aunt and Uncle Dave – my mother married into the family and I’d have to help with the milk separator – I hated that. I didn’t like to wash that at all! But I didn’t mind doing dishes; to this day, I don’t mind. You said you had to go out to a ranch; which ranch was that? Budde: It was over in Jefferson. And what was the name of it? Budde: Rott’s. Rott’s? Budde: Dave Rott Ranch. Oh, okay. Budde: And for years we - - of course, there again, my parents and - - they were very close friends and my step-father and my parents were close friends, so we always called them Aunt Mary and Uncle Dave and all of us kids were raised like cousins. Sure. Budde: And you still see each other and it’s great….over there and during hay, I’d help once and awhile with the meals. That’s when I decided that was a lot of work! (laughter) I guess why I became a cook! When I moved down here, I cooked for the school here for 14 years over at Cheyenne. You’re saying then that you did a lot of cooking for the ranch hands? Budde: Oh, we’d help, yeah. Mostly doing dishes and cleaning up, but three or four meals a day… Sure. Budde: It took a lot of work. Right. Budde: A lot of times, I think I Aunt Mary would send me home because I was just in the way! Oh. Budde: She had two daughters. Did you go to school with them? Budde: Oh yeah. Okay. What were their names? Budde: Delma Marie and Bernis. Bernis was Art’s age and Delma Marie was my age and I see her quite often; she lives in Denver. Well, her brother Jack was younger than me, so we were altogether always. They brought the bus in from Jefferson school, a lot of the kids, all of the kids, would come to my house for lunch and my mother always had soup or sandwiches made for us. She worked in the Post Office, but we always knew we could go over there and something was there for us to eat. That’s neat! Budde: Five or six of them would come over and then if it got so bad they couldn’t go home, they stayed. (laughter). Just on the floor? Budde: Oh yeah, any place. At our house, a lot of them, most of them. What was the relationship between the Fairplay schools and the schools in Jefferson? Was there rivalry there, too? Budde: No because Jefferson was much smaller. Alma just barely had enough for a basketball team I think and Fairplay didn’t have much more than that but no, there wasn’t the rivalry in the other schools. We used to go to Hartsel once in awhile for Field Days. Oh, you did. Budde: Uh-huh. (affirmative) So did you just get together with that school and then and do your Field Days over there? Budde: Uh-huh. At a ranch or at the school? Budde: At the school, usually and down at Santa Maria one time I remember, we went there for a field day and that was a big trip; a really big trip for us, but it was fun, we had a good time and the whole school would go. Sure. Budde: Not just the athletes. Everybody went. What kinds of field day things did you do? Budde: Races and pole-vaulting and broad-jumping. What was your favorite? Budde: Well, at the time I was going with Burton Osborne; he was a pole-vaulter so I supposed I liked that. Were you particularly good a one? Budde: No, no. No?? Budde: I used to race in the races up in Victor once in awhile but I just wasn’t – I was chunky not real coordinated. My sister was cheer-leader, but I never did anything like that, either. Like I say, I was kind of backward, I didn’t want to be out in the front where I had to do anything. Boy, has that changed! (laughter). Budde: I go 90 now; it’s just amazing! That’s because you’ve had the time to … Budde: Yeah. Did you like it? Budde: It don’t bother me now. I do a lot of things. My husband thinks I talk too much (laughter). I tell him all the time I don’t, but I do enjoy it and I love history. Since I’ve gotten back with the reunion and the newsletter, I’ve done a lot more research up there. Things that you take for granted should never have been taken for granted, but it was just a wonderful thing and people have sent me things and their memories have clarified and it was great! I still do the letter. That’s good! Budde: Once every six week I get in and get it out. Awesome. Budde: Yeah! I send it to about sixty households; that’s not too bad and they subscribe to help pay for the ink and the printing and stuff. I really enjoy putting that together. Were you involved in a school newspaper when you were in school or a newsletter? Budde: No, no (inaudible) It’s nothing like we had then. Of course, the old printers you know, the old (inaudible) machines but every once in awhile Marie Chisholm – do you know her from up there? I’m not familiar. Budde: She will send me some things. She’s gone to the library and taken out of the newspaper up there in the Archives and things like that to put in the newsletter. It’s neat. So if you didn’t do the newspaper, were there any favorite subjects that you had? Budde: Math I imagine would have been - - and of course, we didn’t have Home Ec. or anything like that. Was it just the … Budde: Basics? Reading, writing ‘rithmetic for three hours? Budde: And history and geography and that sort of thing. Now, I really enjoy history and I enjoy geography a lot and we do quite a bit of traveling since Art and I have been married. My father never left the state of Colorado. Oh really. Budde: So we’re kind of planted here, you know? (laughter) Right, sure. Budde: At that time, if you got to go out of state, it was wonderful. Right. Budde: We all, we just didn’t do too much traveling, especially if the kids’ parents worked at the mine you know, they worked hard. They were long shift and of course, I can remember Fairplay when I was tiny - -well, not real tiny, but small – those mines were run 24 hours a day. They had shifts. That’s what I heard. Budde: Mm-hmm. My dad never had to work in the mines, I was always thankful for that.
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Tape 2 You were saying that your family and Art’s family were connected. Budde: Where we were born and raised in Fairfield. We didn’t live too far from each other and his mother and my father went to school together. My aunt and his uncle also went to school together. They knew, you know, people like … who was the boxer? Art: Huh? Budde: Who was the boxer? Art: Jack Dempsey. Budde: Jack Dempsey. Oh! Budde: And when Art and I started going together, I couldn’t - - I didn’t realize it and neither did my parents, but then my grandmother came out one day and said we were going to take you up to the little diner that his grandmother owned and have lunch. Well, then when the saw each other, why, they started talking and they had know each other in Victor from years and years and years ago. That’s when they realized the picture. Budde: Uh-huh. And what diner was that at? Budde: We called it Ma’s Place in Fairplay. Is that building still there? Budde: Ma’s Diner – Is it still there? Budde: Uh-huh. Art: don’t know whether it is. Actually, (inaudible) business office place on Front Street. Budde: On Front Street; it used to be right on Front Street. Front Street. Art: Right next to the old pool hall. So what happened then when you all realized that you all knew each other? Budde: You know, it was just great! Right. Budde: And then every time they’d - - my grandparents came over, why they’d go up and see them all. (inaudible) she closed the place you know, she thought it was (inaudible). She was there during the War. Oh. Budde: And we sued to go in there. She had a juke box so we could dance in the diner and always had hamburger and things like that. Sounds good! Budde: Yeah! (laughter) I can remember I was a child at Christmases, family Christmases, were so different. We would go over to Victor’s my grandparents always – we all went home; all the kids were always there and I told my kids they don’t know what hard times are, you know. My dad borrowed the delivery truck, the grocery delivery truck ‘cause they delivered groceries in Fairplay then and Mother would heat rocks and bricks in the oven to get - -so they’d be good and hot to put in the truck when we’d be driving in there at Christmastime, it was bad. Sure. Budde: And took hours and then our pageantry and everything and we’d come home and Daddy would go to work and that’s work day. Oh. Budde: And it was always a lot of pageantry and things like that for us. Huh. Is that how other families celebrated, with the whole community? Budde: Oh, I think so. Back to their roots. Budde: Oh yeah, their own families. After my father died of course, we went over to the ranch Uncle Dave’s and Aunt Mary’s and we would go there most times. We always had someplace that we could go. Sure. Budde: You know, and people were just wonderful to us and the night my father passed away, I just grabbed the telephone and we - - it was a telephone operator of course on duty and I said, “Mabel, Daddy’s just died, I need help.” Oohh. Budde: And within minutes, I had people there at the house to help me ‘cause I wouldn’t - - I just went in and pulled the covers over and closed his eyes and I wouldn’t let my mother in the room until somebody else was there… and I had to drag the dog out of his room. Oh really? Budde: Mm-hmm, his dog never left his side. Huh. Budde: But I said “God, there’s people up there I couldn’t have done it.” He’d been so sick; he had a doctor Buena Vista but there wasn’t one at the time up in Fairplay. Oh. Budde: And he told somebody else in town that he thought he was dying, but he couldn’t tell Mother…. and it left the three of us - - well, my sister’s boyfriend was there at the time. Why couldn’t he tell your mother? I don’t understand. Budde: He just wouldn’t and I don’t know whether he thought she would go to pieces or what, you know, but he told a friend of ours. Oh. Budde: And nobody had gotten back to us. Mmm. Budde: It wasn’t really unexpected, but it is when it’s your own. Right. Budde: No matter how long or how much you know it’s going to happen, it’s still a surprise. Sure. Budde: But my dad was never known by his real name, either. He was always known as “Bud” - Bud Wheeler, that’s where my name came from. I was named after him and an uncle. Even at his funeral, he was called Bud. Then how - - why just the (inaudible). Budde: Mm-hmm. So somebody said Bud one day and it just stuck? Budde: I guess. My family was great for nicknames. Oh, okay. Budde: Then when I came along, I got the name and it’s been quite an adventure. You don’t know too many “Budde’s.” You’re the first Budde I ever known. Budde: Laughter and I’m everybody’s buddy! The nicknames in your family. Budde: Oh, we were always nick-naming someone. I have a cousin whose name was Delano. Huh. Budde: And she was always called “Lonnie” of course and an aunt who was called “Jenny” and her name was Maldora! Which is strange, Oh yeah. Budde: Which is Dorothy, my (inaudible) and of course, my sister and I got named, but they had trouble shortening, but oh my! I have had a hard time with my name. I was taken to the hospital in Denver one time with appendicitis and they looked for me for three days in the men’s ward. (laughter). Oh! Okay. Budde: Yeah, you know, they didn’t know. They just assumed… Budde: That he was up there. Budde: And when I went to work here, I - - my boss called and I had to turn in all my papers and everything else and my wages and she called me and, “Alright – I don’t want to be insensitive,” she said, “but I’ve got to have your real name.” I said, “That is my real name.” (laughter). And I was out in the - - going to the hospital here one time to have some to have some surgery and this little lady, one of the aides came to show me where my room was and took me to this room and there’s a man in the other bed and I stood back and she stood and talked to Art! And I said, “I can’t go in there,” and she says, “No, this is for your husband,” and I said, “No, this is for Budde – that’s me!” Oh no! Budde: And she ran. She just dropped everything and took off and left us standing there. Oh! Budde: All of a sudden we heard the head nurse coming down the hall and she was laughing her head off. She’s: “I know what happened!” (laughter) So it’s been quite an experience. Sometimes I liked it and sometimes I didn’t. Now I’m used to it, so it’s alright. Sure. Budde: But that’s all I can think of, is that enough? Sure. You don’t want to talk about anything else? Budde Well, I’d probably like to talk about sons. Alright. Budde You got to go home to your daughter. That’s alright.
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