In march of this year, I awoke with a terrible stomach and head ache–I forced myself to get up and eat and take a couple aspirins. Those didn’t help much. My grandson, Mick , came by to leave something and said something wasn’t right. So I called my daughter to come by and see if she could detect something–no real odor but everytime she went from the front room to the dining room she would get a sharp headache.
Looking back I had been having stomach aches off and on for the last few months. My kitty had been vomiting a couple times a week for a month or more.
I called the owner of my place and she came right over and also called Xcel who came out immediately and found the crawl space was high in carbon monoxide –red-tagged and shut off the furnace. He assured me it was ok to spend the night.
The next morning I still felt ill and heard my cat screaming in pain and I found him under the bed near death. He did die a few hours later and I spent 5 hours in the ER. The doctor said I couldn’t return until the furnace was repaired or replaced and a carbon monoxide monitor was installed.
All rentals are required to have a monitor here in Colorado–so if you are renting make sure one is provided by the owner/landlord.
Sad as I was loosing my kitty–he was really my “canary in the mine” and saved my life.
A few weeks ago I had an appointment to interview a man who was in home hospice. As I was preparing to leave for his house I had a call from a family member telling me the man had passed away the night before.
I was shocked though not nearly as stunned and disappointed as his children were.
I suggest if you have an elderly or ill loved one DON’T WAIT to get their life story recorded….Be glad you did instead of wishing you had!
My booklet of questions can be of great benefit for you to do the interview yourself.
Remember—
THE SOUND OF A DECEASED LOVED ONE’S VOICE IS LIKE A VISIT ONE OFTEN LONGS FOR.
To all of you whose loved one’s stories I have gathered over the years–please know that audio tapes are pretty much OUT. A lot of folks no longer have a tape player. If you would care to have those tapes converted to cds, zip drives or MP3 s, let me know as we are able to do this service now All further interviews will be on a digital recorder.
My grandson, Mick Brungardt, is doing actual conversions of the tapes to the medias mentioned above. Mick, a professional web designer, set up my website. Several of you have commented on its quality and ease to get around. Should you or someone you know need web design work you can contact Mick at www.info@coopADventures.com or Mick@dynamick.com
The cost of the conversion is $40 per tape which will be on 2 cds due to the time difference.
Once this is done you can make copies from your cds or we can make extra sets for $4 per cd.
I have copies of all the interviews I have done, so you don’t have to search through boxes and drawers wondering where your tapes might be.
I recently attended a Social Media class and am amazed how versitile the various sites can be. A new one for me is Yelp.com if you are not familiar with it you might like to check it out. It seems a good way to put out the word especially when you have had great service at an eating establishment or any other place where you were satisfied with the treatment you received/a great product you purchased. They felt Linkedin was the more professional of the three social media sites, although they felt Twitter and Facebook are beneficial..
We were encouraged to share meaningful books. I have read just finished reading Crush It –a great book on using Social Media especially Twitter and Facebook to further your on-line business. The other is The Four Hour Work Week, this, too, is about on-line marketing. I ordered both from Amazon and saved a bit of money ordering used books.
Both were in great condition.
Another book I have found very useful in my Personal Historian business, Life’s Reflections, is Cyndi’s List.
It was most beneficial when I started Life’s Reflections several years ago.
I have interviewed over 500 people, who shared their personal stories and family memories . 56 are from one family –the Juan de Jesus Vigil family who settled in southern Colorado at the base of the Spanish Peaks aka Las Huajatollas.
The early family came from Spain in the l600’s and settled in Mexico, later moved to the New Mexico Territory and then into the Colorado Territory about 1860–several years before Colorado became a state. The Spanish Peaks. are located not far from Trinidad and Aguilar Colorado. The Vigil family settlement was called Trujillo Creeek. Several of the homestead houses are still standing as well as the school house, church and the family cemetary.
You can find their website on my website www.LifesReflections.com where you can find more about how to capture you or your loved one’s memories, family history and family stories. I can do it for you in a three hour interview in person or over the phone. If you wish to do the story gathering yourself I have a Life’s Reflections Questions ebook you can order from my website. The questions are comprehensive and are the same questions I use in the interviews I do.
I met Barry Ward several years ago when he was performing at the Wet Mountain Western Music Festival in Westcliffe Colorado. His talent and verse were immediately impacting. After recently losing a loved one, Barry’s song “My Blood is in This Land” was so touching - I decided to have it be a part of the moving memorial service.
In the years since, I have caught Barry’s performances several more times and have been equally inspired by his songs.
My family on both my mother and father’s sides came to Colorado in the early 1890’s.
My mother’s father, John Fultz, came from Illinois at the age of 17 to see if this Colorado dry climate would help with lung condition. It surely did as he lived to age 87.
He settled in Saguache, CO in the San Luis Valley and became a partner in a group of cattle ranchers who called themselves the Company Ranch. One of the partners,William Whitten, became John’s brother -in-law, as they married sisters, one of which is my grandmother, Ada Trebilcock Fultz. Ada met my grandfather John when she came from Keosaqua, Iowa to visit her sister, Flora Whitten.
My mother, Ethel Fultz, was born in Saguache in 1906 and lived on the homestead until age 12 when the family moved to Hooper Colorado, some 30 miles south. John wanted to go out on his own, farming and raising both sheep and cattle.
The Barn on the Fultz Homestead
The old homestead near Saguache is still standing although unoccupied since the mid 30’s. It is no longer in the family and the land is used for cattle grazing.
One of Bill Whitten’s sons, George, took my family and me to see the homestead a few years ago. The north and west interior walls were covered with newspapers–later painted and wall papered over. We did find a few still visible papers with dates of 1897 still on the walls.
I did spend quite a bit of time at that Hooper homestead as a child. Riding horses was my favorite pasttime there as well as time with my granddad’s second family, Carroll and Phyllis Fultz.
One always wonders what those old walls would say if they had a voice!
My dad’s father, C.W. Woody came to Salida, Colordo in 1893 to work for the railroad. C.W. (Charlie) Woody came from Iowa, where his family were farmers. Salida was a “railroad” town and Charlie became an engineer on the D&RG (Denver and Rio Grande) railroad. He later owned a restaurant in Salida.
He met my grandmother, Ruth Rout, in Salida. She and her sisters walked behind a covered wagon from St. Francis, Kansas. The family was originally from Lewiston, Missouri where Ruth and her siblings were born.
Ruth’s brother Clarence and a sister or two came to Salida earlier and then their parents and the rest of the family came in 1894. Her mother, Mary Ellen Barkley Zimmerman Rout wrote a letter that still exists about her doubts about moving to Colorado. Her health was poor at the time of the move. She passed away shortly after the family came to Salida.
This grandfather also wanted to ranch near Hooper and moved his family there about 1920. It was in this community of Hooper where my parents, Les Woody and Ethel Fultz met and married in 1924. The house in Hooper was torn down in the early 1980’s and is now a potato field.
A few weeks ago Jan Lindgren was honored at the 11th Annual Senior Heroes Award Reception, sponsored by Jefferson County Council on Aging and the Senior’s Resource Center. Congratulations Jan!
From yet another one of Jan’s community networking groups, Enterprise Wheat Ridge: “Our very own Jan Lindgren, owner of Life’s Reflectionswww.lifesreflections.com and www.MyHistorian.com was honored at the Jefferson County Salute to Seniors Heroes Celebration on Thur. May, 7th at Clement Community Center in Lakewood. She was nominated by Enterprise Wheat Ridge for her work on behalf of promoting Enterprise Wheat Ridge and mentoring women in Jefferson County. Jan has helped E WR get some terrific new members by visiting businesses, encouraging them to come to our meetings and create buzz about E WR! Congrats Jan! “
There is one not for profit group that is a great resource as ‘the’ professional network of personal historians. From their site:
“The Association of Personal Historians, Inc. is a not-for-profit international trade association. The purpose of the Association is to advance the profession of helping individuals, organizations, and communities preserve their histories, memories, and life stories. APH focuses on providing educational, training, and networking opportunities to help professional personal historians, from beginners to advanced, build their personal history businesses. ”
Check out some of the personal historians across our great nation and some even in Canada as well as other countries.
For your own personal historian, don’t be afraid to contact Jan Lindgren today and begin recording those precious family memories.
Liz Masterson is a very talented western musical artist and performer. Liz has brought home awards for yodeling, and will keep your sides a splittin’ with her witty cowgirl humor and stories.
A modern day Patsy Montana, Liz has performed along side great acts such as Riders in the Sky, Baxter Black, Gary McMahan (of ‘Old Double Diamond’ fame), and just about every well-known cowboy poet and singer performing today.
Here is a great video of Liz and her late very talented performing partner Sean Blackburn.
