By James E. Greet, 1991
“There was the summer that the folks lived on the mountain claim with my older brother and sister and me. I was about three years old, and that would have been 1921. Our home was a one room log cabin that dad put up. It had a window in either end, and a home made door in front, with a wooden latch that was operated with a traditional latch string. Mom would pull the latch string in at night, and our door was locked securely.
The cabin was real snug, as it was chinked inside and out with mud. Mom made it even more homey by taking old burlap bags and opening them up and then sewing them together, until she had enough to cover the walls and ceiling.
When mom had that tacked in place, she took old newspapers and homemade paste and papered the whole inside. This was very effective in keeping the dirt and dust down. To discourage the mice from chewing it up, she put red pepper in the paste. No need to get bored, for there was endless reading wherever you looked!
The folks had to be very resourceful, as the mountain claim was eighteen miles from the home ranch in the Nowood Valley, and that was eighteen miles from the little town of Ten Sleep. All supplies were transported from the ranch by team and wagon, since we didn’t even have a car.
My mother was an accomplished pioneer woman. She could milk a cow, ride a horse, drive a team, and was a “dead eye” with a rifle. She could make a place “home” for her family wherever necessary.
Dad took his team and log chain and dragged in a nice big flat stone to put in front of our cabin door. No doubt that stone is still there. Dad also took his team and wagon and went around to the canyon and cut lots of evergreen boughs to put on the roof of our cabin just before putting on the dirt. Dad hauled the dirt just a stone’s throw from the cabin. He remarked several times later that he had been really generous with the dirt. It was a good job, for that roof stayed amazingly straight years after other similar roofs had fallen in.”
This was fascinating as was yesterday’s. First person history is wonderful. Reminds me of my grandmother and her stories of life on her claim in Nebraska.
You have the picture of the cabin that we saw. I have to ask, did you find the stone?
Thank you, Carol, for posting more of this terrific, first-hand story of
your family’s establishing the ranch. I’m fascinated, like when I read
the “Little House on the Prairie Books”!
A very interesting piece of your family history.
James did such a great job of describing that log cabin and their life at that time. It makes the photo feel so haunting.
What an amazing history your family actually has! I am imagining one of the latest “1883” or “1923” possible episodes. …. Wonder what you think if you have watched them?
If they are fairly accurate?
Oops, no. Found Johnny’s birth date, 12/24/1930. So he would not have been the older brother James mentions when he was three in 1921. Would you give us a refresher in who’s who in the generations behind Vernon?
James was Johnny’s younger brother? What a treasure to have James’ descriptions of what life was like in that era. Thanks for sharing it with us.