One in a collection by Allen Bachoroski,
Local Historical Writer,
Tales Along the
Highway of Legends
Note: This
is one in a series of historical stories about local families
in the Trinidad region.
Click here to find out more
about how these stories were collected.
Grandmother Lenora Myers Hanson, a native of Newport,
Indiana and later "the first white woman living on
the North Fork of the Solomon river in Kansas" had
early ties to the Trinidad community. After his discharge
from the Union army, her husband Morgan Hanson, entered
this area as a "buffalo hunter", temporarily
settled here and later encouraged his wife to leave their
homestead in Kansas, where the town of Lenora had been
named for her, to come to the move into the Trinidad area.
The town was, she said, a "mere cluster of adobe
huts at that date" Morgan Hanson, member of the 115th
Volunteer Infantry regiment of Illinois, and his 17 year
old bride had migrated into Kansas from their home in
Tower Hill, Ill., then came to the valley of the Purgatory
river.
Their
first child, Bertha, was born in Kansas and died there
of "summer complaint"about 1867-69? Melvin Hanson
was born to them in 1870 while on the Solomon, followed
by Hattie in 1873, and Charles A. in 1874. It was about
this time that the family decided to remove from Kansas
permanently and to come to Trinidad, prior to removing
into New Mexico.
Morgan, the hunter, wore his hair long as was the prevailing
custom among buffalo hunters and frontiersmen of the day.
He was referred to by his Kansas neighbors, somewhat irreverently,
as a "Long haired Jesus".
In 1875 he signed a contract with the Atchison, Topeka
and Santa Fe railroad to provide wild meat and game for
their construction crews meals as that railroad worked
on completion of the "Glorieta Cut" near Santa
Fe. Shortly thereafter Morgan sent for his wife and family
to come to Glorieta where they set up housekeeping and
they set up a small store and a saloon in addition to
acting as postmaster and an Indian Agent.
Leaving Trinidad was a chore left to his wife,who engaged
two covered wagons, loaded them with all her belongings
and her three children and headed south, accompanied by
a single outrider, Nate Andes, a brother in law from Tower
Hill, Ill. A strange tale is told of Nate; while this
trip was made in 1875 and Lenora affirms that he accompanied
them all the way to Glorieta, historical accounts in Kansas
say that Nate was killed by Indians on the Republican
river in 1873 and was buried there. This is not the first
odd story in the Trinidad region. The trek westward from
Kansas was a strenuous one, crossing the plains to the
frontier town Trinidad with its assortment of characters,
both law abiding and others, was a worrisome event to
Lenora and her children.
Within days of leaving Trinidad and heading up the Santa
Fe Trail, the difficult task of climbing the pass began.
Immediately Lenora began to miss her neighbors and her
church e Church of God, a small congregation that she
had chosen to supplant her earlier Quaker church from
which she had been banned for marrying an unchurched exsoldier.
With her teams well fed and rested, the wagons prepared,
wheels greased and all other preparations ahead of time,
it seemed that things would go well. But such was not
to be the case. Just above Starkville, the going got rougher.
Some days later she paid tribute to Uncle Dick Wooten
and passed onto his toll road. The sharp upturn in grade
and the many large rocks and trees necessitated slow going.
She told of several instances of having to dismantle the
wagons, removing wheels and cargo, to get around obstacles.
Time passed as the scenic trip unwound. The children were
exuberant, but Lenora had her moments of doubt. In about
ten days they were in Raton, paused briefly to rest, then
set out on the dusty, alkaline wagon trail toward Las
Vegas and upward into Pecos and finally into Glorieta.
What a celebration the reunited family had!
From 1876 until 1899 they lived there. During which time
Melvin, the older son, enlisted in the Spanish American
war forces and was killed by a sniper's bullet. Two more
children were born. First, Harry Franklin Hanson, born
Jan. 1, 1880 followed by Carrie Edith born Jan 24, 1882.
She was later to marry Willard Merrill of Hoehne, becoming
the mother of one son and five daughters whose descendants
are in the area today. After twenty three years in Glorieta,
Lenora had to face sad events. That year she learned that
her son Melvin had died in action, and near the close
of the year her husband Morgan Hanson died of a heart
condition; "dropsy" it was called then. Thereafter
she removed to Arkansas to live near a brother who had
migrated there to Benson county.
But
the memories of her happy sojourn in Trinidad lingered,
and she and her son Harry and daughter Carrie removed
once more, after selling her Arkansas homestead, to Trinidad.
Harry Franklin Hanson married in Trinidad to Julia Waren,
daughter of William Thomas Waren and his wife Josie Stanfill
Waren, in 1916. To them were born five sons; Raymond Hanson,
Albert, Ralph, Floyd and Leroi (Jack).
Lenora and two of her children are buried in the Masonic
cemetery, as are several grandchildren including Albert
Hanson. Ray Hanson is a retired high school Principal
in Bloomington, Mn.; Ralph lives in Loveland, and Floyd
and Leroi are residents of Chanute, Kansas. What does
a paperboy recall about after 59 years absence? The memories
of a Chronicle carrier named Raymon Hanson in the year
1929. Fourteen carriers gathered each evening across from
the Chronicle office to play while waiting for Domenic
Ozzello, Chester Chambers and Wally Asdel to get the old
high wheeled flat bed press going and to print the paper.
The game was to roll or toss a small ball toward a lineup
of caps, each owned by a single carrier and turned upside
down. When the ball nested itself in a cap, the owner
was entitled to retrieve the ball and to hurl it at any
other participant with all his might. On occasion the
objective of this missile bore a round bruise for several
days duration.
Many a time the game was witnessed by a "big time"
circulation manager with the nickname "Casey."
Casey was the envy of most Trinidad teen agers. He was
a classy upscale yuppie of the day who drove the fanciest
car in town, a shiny, beautiful Ford convertible. The
editor was an old gentleman who lived in the house alongside
the postoffice; he was to later be succeeded by the then
sports editor of the day, John O'Connor. And about five
p.m. daily the upstairs Spanish language editor finished
his work and came down the stairs to head home. This man
provided the first experience of this writer with a real
Spanish gentleman; whether at work or at his home, he
was always dressed to the hilt in a white long sleeved
shirt with a dark necktie.
My route was along Linden avenue which was reached by
passing the Trinidad Creamery and down the tracks. The
creamery loading dock was dominated by a large well built
young man named Dominic who awed the kids with his muscular
body and good looks. And while speaking of good looks,
even a twelve year old couldn't resist a look at Mary
Michellza, the prettiest young woman who ever supervised
I.L. Jacobson's butter wrapping department; her beauty
surpassed by far that of any popular movie actress of
the day. And then who can forget the largesse of the proprietor
with his offerings of soft ice cream for school kid visitors
and for his offering of several varieties of aluminum
kitchen cooking vessels for the repeated purchaser of
"Trinidad Gold" butter. In many a Trinidad kitchen
these were the first of many cooking appliances selected
by the householder.
From the creamery across the steel truss railroad bridge
which was used by the C & S railroad and which sat
on large concrete piers. Against one of these piers the
currents washed, providing the only deep swimming hole
in the town. This was, for years, the city's only free
and unofficial swimming pool with exception of that located
at Starkville.
Then down "River street" where there was a lesson
in race relations. Near the bridge on Linden lived a black
couple. Quiet , avid gardeners, they were always pleasant
persons. There weren't many blacks in town those days.
In a Dallas vs. Trinidad high football game, held in Dallas,
the star fullback of the Miners team was forbidden to
play because of color. And the venerable Santa Fe grade
school, Miss Caldwell, personally assured the writer and
his companions that "there were people who were black
outside, but worse still, there were those who were black
inside". A lesson well learned and well remembered.
Down Linden to Charlie Davis' "Square Deal Grocery"
with its steady supply of penny candy sometimes sold two
for a penny to select customers, that is if you were a
special person. From Charlie's paper to the C& S dispatcher,
cross the tracks,the irrigation ditch, the concrete fabricating
factory and to the Santa Fe switching yards to wave to
Engineer "Tippy". Next was Gurule's grocery
where there were sold for 5¢ the Three Musketeers
candy bar, which was three times the current size, one
bar chocolate, one strawberry and one vanilla. And this
was topped off with one of Mr. Gurule's tales of the strange
markings found on a large rock on his ranch. Were the
marks directions to hidden treasure? Then to Devine's
grocery for a repeat performance. It was behind Devines
that we smoked our first cigarette in the outhouse; not
so great an experience! On past Dudgenons, Sissons, Wrights,
Sandovals, Snyders and Makloski's homes. At blocks end
Barber Raimondi and Printer Risley's. And to the Banker
Stone's place; I recall that I lost $13.00 in the failure
of the local Savings and Loan in the crash of 1929. And
with an experience in economics, the policeman at the
end of the block still owes me 80¢; long dead, he
was even sworn to uphold the law.
And then to "Old" Mrs. Callahans, member of
a former southern slave holding family, who had an inexhaustible
supply of pulp magazines, free on loan to the poor boy's
library. Finally to the Santa Fe tower, where Harold Kock
was king, holding sway over a vast array of switches.
Harold was also a folk hero. He owned and drove a racing
car at the fair grounds. And now, home to mother Julia,
dad Frank and four brothers.
(Note:
if you have Photos of this family or know of anyone that
does, please have them get in touch with us so that we
might share some photos of the family here)