Welcome!

My family came to what is now Boulder, Colorado, arriving when Boulder was three months old. My Great-great-grandfather was Carson W. Arbuthnot and with him, he brought his four sons and a son-in-law. Since a little child I have loved the history of this beautiful mountain area, the legacy's of the Natives who were here when my family arrived, and the way our community has grown to what it is today. My blog is dedicated to seeking evidence of all that happened. The good, the bad and the ugly, I will share the evidence of what I find.

I also share Boulder County and Colorado History through entertaining storytelling. Dressed as one of my early Boulder County ancestors, I will make you laugh, smile and sometimes cry as I share the stories of the people who came before us and who established these communities that we enjoy today. Please visit my storytelling and events pages for information on performances.

Welcome to my blog, I hope you enjoy your time here.

Sincerely,
Donlyn Arbuthnot

Thursday, February 28, 2019

February 28, 1942 Diary

Saturday, 59th Day - 306 Days to Follow

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

28 degrees above at 7 A.M.
Warmer today and it snowed most all day.
Don's were here for dinner.
The tractor was brot out here from Longmont.
A card party at the Grange Hall tonite.
Proceeds to go to buy a board for the Grange.
Temp 20 degrees above at 8 P.M.
No radio tonight.

Altona Grange No. 127

I don't know how a card party worked to raise funds for the Grange to spend.
Today, there is a bulletin board that hangs in the Altona Grange Hall.  It's been there for as long as I can remember.  I wonder if that is the board that was purchased with the funds from this party.  My guess is that it probably was.

You can see the old chalk board behind my cousin and I.
(She's the pretty one, visiting Altona for the first time from California.)


Wednesday, February 27, 2019

February 27, 1942 Diary

Friday, 58th Day - 307 Days to Follow

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

Temp at 7 A.M. 6 degrees below.
Some warmer today.
I cleaned the wood work in the kitchen and hung the curtains on the line to dust them.
Mr. Anderson and Hewy bro[ught] Dad some lumber from Lyons today.  Cloudy tonite.

Lyons, CO

The town of Lyons, Colorado in Boulder County is the gateway into the Rocky Mountains.
It is located north west of where Margie and Fred Arbuthnot live.  The town of Lyons has come back after the 100 year's flood took out a portion of the town.  It's a wonderful place to visit with it's Redstone Museum, nationally known music festivals, and the home of the Original Oskar Blues.  
In Margie's time, it was a mining town and the lumber cut there had either been brought in by train, or had been brought down from the mountains.  Stop by the Museum and let them know that I sent you.  You won't regret it.

Click here for the Lyon's Redstone Museum

Click here for the Town of Lyons 

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

February 26, 1942 Diary

Thursday, 57th Day - Days to Follow

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

Down to zero this morning.
Didn't warm up very much today.
I canned meat - Dad & Don to Longmont this P.M.
Don made a down payment of a Ford tractor.  
Donnie went to Loren H[ornbakers].
After school, Loren came home with him for a while.

Remember those days of when you would run over to your friend's home, and they would come to yours?  Margie's grandson had a good friend in his classmate Loren Hornbacker.  You can see on this map from 1940 that the family lived very close to each other.  Not in the sense that folks live close to each other in town, but as in terms as the next farm over.  All Donnie had to do to get to where the Hornbacker's lived, was to go across his grandparent's farm, cross through his Great-Uncle Will's farm,  jump the ditch and the creek, and he would be at his best friend's house.  

Also, remember back when in a previous entry, the Poppy farm is mentioned when new neighbors had moved there?  Well here is where the Poppe farm was located, at the corner of 63rd and Oxford Road.  

Detail from the 1940 map.
Niwot Road runs along the bottom edge of this photo.
The other roads are 63rd going N and S.
Oxford Road runs E and W

Monday, February 25, 2019

February 25, 1942 Diary

Wednesday, 56th Day - 309 Days to Follow

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

Down to zero at 7 A.M.
Carol Jane and Darold here all day.  Florence & Don to Boulder.
Don had a tooth pulled - didn't come to milk.
Wallace was in bed, has a cold.
Milk check today $75.88 less $71.54 test 4.9
price per lb 61.
Temp tonite 6 degrees above.

In the 1940's the first program began to provide milk in schools for the students.
Click here for a time line with the history of Milk.


Sunday, February 24, 2019

February 24, 1942 Diary

Tuesday, 55th Day - 310 Days to Follow

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

Down to zero this morning.
[Grandpa must have bought Grandma a new thermometer yesterday when they were in town.]
I washed today.
Don couldn't get the car started this morning so Dad and Donny had the milking to do.
A letter from Nora.
A. Iona & Mother today.
Cloudy tonite.  Boring tonite over Radio, Sullimans & Pastore.
Margie sold the calf to Mr. Fredell for $60.

Click here for a list of 1940's radio shows.  The one that Grandma was listening to that night is not listed.  I'm not sure I have it spelled correctly.  If you happen to know what it was that she was listening to, please comment and let us know.




Saturday, February 23, 2019

February 23, 1942 Diary

Monday, 54th Day - 311 Days to Follow

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

More snow last nite, about 5 inches.
Cleared off by noon.
Dad and I went to Phillip Haas to get Una's, Marjorie and ? ? birth blank signed for their birth certificate.
To Don's this P.M. to cut up the veal.
Mr. Fredel came to Don's to look at Marjorie's colt.  Offered to buy her for $60.
Listened to a speech from the President.
We went to Niwot today with Lottie B[runing] and G. Jain - all on business.

Click here to listen to FDR's Fireside Chat No. 20, the same one that Grandma listened to on this night.

Birth Certificates

Margie and Fred's daughters, Marjorie (Arbuthnot) Campion and Una (Arbuthnot) Albert would have been adults yet, they didn't have birth certificates since they were born at home.  Same for their brothers, Ken and Don.  But this year, they were able to fill out the information and get it notarized so that they could get official birth certificates issued by the State of Colorado   

Fred and Marjorie also didn't have birth certificates, What they were able to use were statements from the U.S. Department of Commerce's U.S. Census verifying when they were born.

It's too bad I can't read Grandma's hand writing to make out the third person who was also filling out the blank form for their birth certificate. 

Fed Arbuthnot's 1942 evidence of his birth


Margie Arbuthnot's evidence of her birth




Friday, February 22, 2019

February 22, 1942 Diary

Sunday, 53rd Day - 312 Days to Follow  

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

Washington's Birthday

8 above at 7 this morning.
The girls were out from Boulder this P.M.
Donnie went to Lorn Hornbecker this A.M.
Cloudy to nite and not very cold.
Therometor broken so no temp report tonight.

I wonder what Grandma would think now, if she only knew how many of us are reading her 
"Therometor" reports.  

Thursday, February 21, 2019

February 21, 1942 Diary

Saturday, 52nd Day - 313 Days to Follow

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

8 degrees above at 7 this morning.
Dad, Donnie and I at Don's for dinner.
The men butchered a veal.
No letter from Nora today.

It was in February of 1937 that Florence Hill and Don Arbuthnot got engaged.  
Here is their engagement photo.  Don and Florence lived west of 55th on Niwot Road.
Donald F. Arbuthnot &
Florence M. Hill
Red Rocks west of Boulder
Now called Settler's Park as this was the camp
site where the first group of gold miners camped in 1858.

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

February 20, 1942 Diary

Friday, 51st Day - 314 Days to Follow

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

2 degrees above at 7 A.M.
This has been a real nice day and have been 2 lazy.
Hemmed some tea towels this P.M.
Temp at 8 P.M. is 22 degrees above.

More about George Arbuthnot's home after Nels Anderson purchased it.

In order to move to California, George Arbuthnot (Margie's brother-in-law) sold his house, barn and land along Niwot Rd to a Swedish farmer, Nels Anderson.  Nels had come from Minnesota to establish a cattle ranch.  Nels had a big dream and had brought with him the forms to build a concrete silo. Silos here in the west were built with curved bricks that fit perfectly together to make the round silo.  Nels established his ranch with the purchase of George's one story home, barn and land.  

Nels brought Holstein cattle to the ranch and established a national register for Holsteins, which he kept up to date his entire life. He made many improvements on the farm.  He not only built two silos, but also a Swedish style barn.  These were the first concrete silos to be built west of the Mississippi.  The Colorado state University had heard of these form and what Nels had built.  They convinced Nels to donate the forms to him so that they could help other farmers build concrete silos.  Today, these silos and Nel's unique barn are on the National Register for Historic Places.  Old red brick silos can still be seen in Boulder County, as well as many concrete silos that we have Nels Anderson to thank.

Thank you to Ernie Anderson for sharing the Anderson family photos.

Nels Anderson
The home on the left was what George had built, along with the barn in the middle.
On the right is the Swedish barn and the two concrete silos.

Nels Anderson farm 1943
Nels made many improvements to the home.

Anderson Barn and Silos as they appear today.



Tuesday, February 19, 2019

February 19, 1942 Diary

Thursday, 50th Day - 315 Days to Follow

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

Warmer today 6 degrees below at 7 A.M.
I didn't go to the Theater party today with club members.
Went for a ride with Don's to Lyons back through Hygiene.
Warmer tonite - 7 degrees above at 8 P.M.
Don and Florence had a letter from Inez Twa today.
Telling that Stephen passed away Jan 18th.
I wrote to Inez tonite.

Stephen Elmer Arbuthnot was the brother of Inez (Arbuthnot) Twa.
Their father, George John Arbuthnot, was brothers with Margie's husband, Fred Arbuthnot.
Like Fred, George was born at Haystack Mountain.
George purchased the land that is now at the corner of Niwot Rd and Brigadoon Dr.
With the help of his brothers, George built a home along with a small barn.  The house is a four square home and was most likely purchased through the Railroad company, where all of the parts for the home were delivered on one railroad car.  This was a very popular style of home at the time, a style that preceded the Sears and Roebuck style of catalog homes.

In 1905 George married a woman from Niwot, Nancy L. Brammeier, and they made their home there.
They had two children that were born in that home, Inez and Ivan.  Ivan was called "Hap" because he was such a happy baby.  Nancy's health was not so good, and opportunities arose so in 1908 the family moved to Manteca, California.  In California, George established an almond farm.

Life seemed to be better for the family in California.  Nancy became pregnant again and in July of 1911, Stephen was born.  Soon after Stephen arrived, Nancy was pregnant again.
But she was not so fortunate this time.  The forth child, a baby boy, died the day he was born.
Nancy died 18 days letter.  They are buried together in California.

George was devastated to loose his wife and child.  His mother, uncle and sister traveled to California to see him, I'm sure hoping to convince him to come back to Colorado.  But he was established now in California and stayed there.  Inez, Hap, and Stephen grew up there and did visit their cousins family in Colorado. Inez eventually lived in Colorado.   Stephen married in 1934 to Mary Belle Blair and had two daughters.  Inez's letter shared that Stephen had died after fighting tuberculosis.

I wish to thank my California cousins, descendants of George J. Arbuthnot, for sharing their photos, homes, time, and love with me.

Click here for Stephen Arbuthnot's Find-A-Grave page.

Nancy [Brammeier] & George J. Arbuthnot
Ivon "Hap" and Inez
1907

Home of George and Nancy Arbuthnot
Photo taken from Niwot Raod
1905

"Happy and Grouchy"
Brothers Ivon "Hap" and Stephen Arbuthnot




Monday, February 18, 2019

February 18, 1942 Diary

Wednesday, 49th Day - 316 Days to Follow

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

Cold last nite 12 degrees above at 7 A.M.
Canned 7 pts [pints] of meat today and ground sausage.
Has not warmed up much today.
3 below at 8 P.M.

Making sausage.  Grandma didn't have a food processor to grind her meat in.  She used a hand crank grinder and fed the meat into it from the top as she turned the handle.  Here is a photo of one that is similar to the one she used.  


Old hand crank meat grinder,
like the one Grandma used.

Pork Sausage Recipe

For two pounds of ground pork, add a mixture of the following:

two teaspoons salt,
two teaspoons dried sage, crushed fine,
one teaspoon black pepper,
one-fourth teaspoon marjoram,
a pinch of ground cloves,
It's best to mix all of the above together before adding it to your ground pork.
Mix well and form into patties or this can be put into sausage casings.
Fry them up, best fried in a cast iron skillet.
Or freeze until ready to use.










Sunday, February 17, 2019

February 17, 1942 Diary

Tuesday, 48th Day - 317 Days to Follow

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

Cold this morning - 8 degrees below at 7:30 A.M.
Some more snow last night and this A.M.
I was at Don's today.
Carol Jane has a cold.
Called Marjorie - Una and Duane both have colds.
Cold tonight 18 degrees below at 8:30.

Niwot, Colorado
Since everyone has a cold today, I will share more about the town of Niwot.
Here is the original plat of the town from 1875.  Today, the town is only on the east side of the rail road tracks.  But here you can see how the town was also on the west side of the tracks.  
Where the rail road was split, was where a sugar beet dump was located.  It was elevated and wagon loads of beets would be brought up and then the beets were dumped from the wagon into the train car below.  It made for very quick loading of the rail road cars to take the beats to Longmont to be made into sugar.


Niwot Plat from 1875 showing the lots in the town.
And how the railroad was once split.


Saturday, February 16, 2019

February 16, 1942 Diary

Monday, 47th Day - 318 Days to Follow

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

[written at the top of the page is "new time"]
10 degrees at 8 A.M. 
More snow today, about 8 inches on the ground new.
A letter from Nora today.  
Dad and Don to Niwot this A.M.
Dad to see Phillip Harsa to fill out his income tax report.

Niwot, Colorado

Let's talk about the town of Niwot, just east about a mile and a half from where Fred and Margie lived.

Named for the Arapaho Chief who was camped at Haystack Mountain when Fred's father and grandfather would come down from the mountains to stay in a cabin at this same location.  Niwot, meaning Left Hand, was first spelled as two words Ni Wot.  With the Homestead Act and the promised of free land, many of the gold miners settled in this area, East of Haystack Mountain.  With the railroad being laid, there was a need to service the farmers in the area.  In 1873, the town was established by a rail road company.  At first the town was called Modoc because of those who fought the Railroad by pulling up the rails that they had just laid down and this was at the time of the Modoc Indian wars.  So while the town was named Ni Wot, for a short while, the post office was called Modoc.

Early on, Fred's cousins - the Bader brothers - owned a mercantile store, selling all kinds of goods.  Reverend Taylor opened a grocery store and held church meetings in the second story of his store.  There was the Niwot Feed and Grain which is where the family took their grain to be ground.  There was the Niwot Dairy who purchased milk, butter and eggs from the farmers.  There was a blacksmith shop and when it wasn't busy, there would be a horseshoe game with the locals behind the building.  There was a pool hall, which had a bathroom with a bath tub.  And a hotel (which did not have any bath tubs, but you could go to the pool hall if you wanted a bath).  Niwot was a thriving community, yet very small.

Sitting between the larger towns of Boulder and Longmont, the railroad served the farmers and ranchers in this area well.  From hauling beets from the Niwot beet dump, to transporting students into town to attend high school, the railroad served many needs of the community.

In 1873 when the Granges were first established in Colorado, Niwot had one of the first granges, the Left Hand Grange No. 9.  Some of the children who parents had first established this grange decided to establish a new Grange and in 1891, the Altona Grange was established.  In 1896, when the Altona Grange Hall was built, the train had brought coconut, lemons, and oysters to be sold in the grocery.  Items that were used at the Altona Grange to celebrate it's opening and dinners with lemonade, coconut cake and the popular oyster dinners.

By the 1960's the train was no longer stoping in Niwot and the town was deteriorating, but with the establishment of IBM, many people new to the area settled in and around Niwot.  The town  was reborn.  Local business and property owners as well as the area descendants of the pioneers established the main street of Niwot as a protected historical district.  Today, the town has still not been incorporated, yet, the community members are more personally invested in keeping their town unique, historic, and fun.

Click here for more information on the Niwot Historical Society

Click here to visit the town of Niwot




Friday, February 15, 2019

February 15, 1942 Diary

Sunday, 46th Day - 319 Days to Follow

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

6 degrees below this morning at 7.
Morning foggy - snowed a part of today.
Don's and the Boulder folks out here for dinner.
Not very warm today.
2 degrees above at 8:30 P.M.

Grandma's recipes...

With having fresh pork since a hog was butchered a few days ago,
no wonder every one came for dinner on this night.
A few years ago, my cousin Dana let me know that she had a notebook full of Grandma's recipes.
I was pretty excited to see what kinds of things that Grandma made.
With the war going on and rationing, it shouldn't have surprised me like it did.
The notebook was filled with recipes using Velveeta and Spam.
Wow, not what I was expecting to find.  I will be posting some of those recipes in the future.

A 1940's magazine add for Spam



Thursday, February 14, 2019

February 14, 1942 Diary

Friday, 45th Day - 320 Days to Follow

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

13 degrees above at 7 A.M.
Snowed all day but not much.
Don and Dad took corn to Niwot to have ground 
and drove on to Longmont.
Don made a bargain for a Ford Tractor.  
I fried out lard this P.M.
Donny went home with Don to stay all nite.
Florence going to a shower for Eileen Jones Nelson.
18 degrees above at 9 P.M.


Doesn't everybody render lard on Valentines day?

Don Arbuthnot, Margie's youngest son, plowing the field.
This is how it was done before he bought the tractor.

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

February 13, 1942 Diary

Friday 44th Day - 321 Days to Follow

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

18 degrees above at 7 A.M. 
Snowed most of today but not much.
Not very cold.
22 degrees above at 8 P.M.

Margie and Fred Arbuthnot
on the front porch of their home on Niwot Road
Boulder County, Colorado

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

February 12, 1942 Diary

Thursday, 43rd Day - 322 Days to Follow

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

Temp at 7 A.M. 20 degrees above.
More snow.
Butchered a hog today - 207 lbs.
I made grape jelly to day.
18 degrees above at 8 P.M.

Grape Jelly
Clipping from Mom's collection.

Monday, February 11, 2019

February 11, 1942 Diary

Wednesday, 42nd Day - 323 Days to Follow

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

Four degrees above at 7 A.M.
Not very warm all of today.
Dad and Don took grain to Niwot to have ground.
I made apple jelly & jam today.
Myrna Dodd stopped on her way to Niwot.
Temp 20 degrees above at 9 P.M.

Apple Jelly

3 lbs apples
3 cups water
2 cinnamon sticks
3 whole cloves
½ teaspoon nutmeg
3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon lemon or orange juice

Core and chop up apples.  Place in a pot with water, cook down and mash.
Barely cover fruit with water and add the spices.
Bring to a simmer and cook until apples are soft,  Mash the apples.
Make sure you don't boil but simmer the apples.
Wet down a jelly bag and strain the apple mixture using a jelly bag.
Don't squeeze the bag or your jelly won't be clear.
Apples can sit over night to strain well.

Take four cups of that apple juice and add three cups of water and the lemon or orange juice.
Stir this as you bring it to a boil just to melt the sugar.
Have your jars washed and ready to go.  Ladle warm jelly into he warm jars.
Wipe the rims clean.  Seal and can using a water bath method.
Make sure that your jars are sealed before putting in the cellar to store.

    Sunday, February 10, 2019

    February 10, 1942 Diary

    Tuesday, 41st Day - 324 Days to Follow

    Written by Margie Arbuthnot

    2 degrees above at 7 A.M.
    More snow last night, quite cold this morning.
    Dad, Don, Carol Jane & myself went to Boulder today.
    Carol stayed with the girls while we were down town.
    Duane not feeling very good today.
    A new 1st grader at Batchelder today.
    Have a lame cow today.
    Temp at 8 o'clock tonight 16 degrees above.

    And we think it's been cold at 25 degrees above - at 7 A.M. this morning.


    Saturday, February 9, 2019

    February 9, 1942 Diary

    Monday, 40th Day - 325 Days to Follow

    Written by Margie Arbuthnot

    2 degrees above at 7 A.M.
    I washed today.
    Dad melted snow first.
    Wrote to Lettie and Jessie tonight.
    Time turned ahead 1 hour today.
    20 degrees above at 8 P.M.

    Grandpa must have melted the snow for Grandma to use for her washing water.  Since their drinking water was hauled in and they had to pay for it, this was an economical way to use some good clean and fresh snow.  

    Interesting to me that time was changed on a Monday.  I didn't think that Daylight Savings Time began until the early 1960's, but reading on this web site, it was something that has taken place since World War I.  You can read about the history of changing our clocks here.

    Now more about...

    "The Girls" part two...

    Fred and Margie's youngest daughter was quiet and shy.  Una Arletta Arbuthnot born in April of 1908.  Una attended school at the Batchelder school and then at the school in Niwot.  After graduation, she followed her brother Ken to Fort Collins and attended school there.  It was at Fort Collins where she met her husband, Charles "Chuck" Wesley Albert.  He was from Wyoming and was attending collage at the Colorado Aggie College (now Colorado State University).  Una and Chuck were married in 1927 and went to live in Wyoming where Chuck's family ran a store.  Three children were born, Darline, Donnie and Duane.  Due to a highway being put in, the Albert family store had to close and the family moved to San Bernadino, California.  

    On a vacation trip when Una had brought the three grandchildren home to the Arbuthnot farm, Una received a telegram from her husband.  He announced her that he was leaving her for another woman.  Una was devastated of course and she did return home to try and work things out with Chuck.  But her efforts didn't work out and they divorced in 1941.  I'm not sure that Una ever recovered the devastation of her husband's actions, it was during a time when much shame was laid upon a divorced, single woman.  Yet, Margie and Fred loved their daughter and grandchildren and they all made the best of it.

    Donnie was a big help to his Grandfather and to his Uncle Don on their farms.  Duane grew up to work for may of the neighbors, including the owners of Haystack Mountain - the Paynes.  Darline became the Head Girl of her class at Boulder High School as well as an accomplished musician.  And I'm sure, that for Fred and Margie, it was good to have their girls back home with them again.

    Una went on to work as a seamstress for the University of Colorado.  She worked tirelessly making curtains, tablecloths, and other various things for the university.  She never married again, but enjoyed her many grandchildren, nieces and nephews.  

    Children of Fred and Margie Arbuthnot.
    L to R Ken, Donald, Una, Marjorie

    Chalres "Chuck" and Una (Arbuthnot) Albert
    1927
    Una (Arbuthnot) Albert, with her children.
    L to R Donnie, Darline, Una, Duane
    April 1951, Boulder, Colorado

    The Author of this blog with her family & "The Girls",  her Aunts Una and Marjorie.
    L to R Aunt Una Albert,  Sean, Bryson, Steve & Donlyn, Aunt Marjorie Hawn.
    November 1991, Boulder, Colorado



    Friday, February 8, 2019

    February 8, 1942 Diary

    Sunday, 39th Day - 326 Days to Follow

    Written by Margie Arbuthnot

    28 degrees above at 7 A. M.
    Snowed all A.M. and part of P.M.
    Girls came out this P.M.for a short time.
    Brought Donnie out.  
    Today was open house at Dr. Hunton's (sp?) 
    showing his new barn.
    Earl Burrus his tenant.
    Don, Florence and children here this evening.
    Temp this evening 22 above at 7 P.M. this evening.

    "The Girls"

    Margie and Fred had four children, Ken the eldest, then Marjorie, Una and the youngest (my father) Donald.  The two daughters both lived in Boulder at this time, and both single mothers.  Margie refers to her two daughters as "the girls:.  

    Today, I will share with you about Marjorie was the eldest daughter, born in 1904 and she shared her  birth date with her sister-in-law Florence.  Marjorie attended school at the Batchelder School where her father was on the board of directors.  She later attended the Normal School for teachers in Greeley, CO.  She married a young miner,  Louis Campion who's family lived not too far from where the Arbuthnot's lived.  Louis was married and then divorced in Minnesota before he came to Colorado.  He brought with him, his son Wallace.  Marjorie and Louis kept their marriage a secret for a while so she could continue as a teacher.  The family was greatly sadden on August 29, 1938 when Louis was struck by a big boulder when he was leaving the Slide Mine at the end of his work day.  The large boulder crushed him yet spared his friend who was walking out with him.  After this, Marjorie adopted Wallace and raised him as her own, she never had any children of her own.  Marjorie was a seamstress and worked in a dress shop in Boulder.  

    Tomorrow, I will share about the other one of "the girls".

    Fred and Margie with "The Girls"
    L to R Una, Fred, Margie, Marjorie
    1920's

    Louis and Marjorie (Arbuthnot) Campion
    Celebrating their wedding with a gift from Marjorie's Uncle Will.
    Photo taken on Don & Florence's wedding day, March 2, 1937


    Funeral of Louis Campion, Aug 1938.
    Paid for by the Slide Mine.









    Thursday, February 7, 2019

    February 7, 1942

    Saturday, 38th Day - 327 Days to Follow

    Written by Margie Arbuthnot

    18 degrees above at 7 A.M.
    A nice day except rather windy at times.
    Donnie went to Boulder this morning with the Carolyns on the milk truck.
    Dad went to Niwot for the ditch meeting.
    A letter from Nora, she said Roberta was in Longmont hospital.
    Operated on Jan. 24th.
    32 degrees above at 9 P.M.and it is snowing some.
    Wind in the N. E.


    Long before 1942, the Lombard Milk Wagon delivered milk in Boulder, CO
    Photo from the Boulder Genealogy Society Collection. 



    Wednesday, February 6, 2019

    February 6, 1942 Diary

    Friday 37th Day - 328 Days to Follow

    Written by Margie Arbuthnot

    Temp at 7 A.M. 15 degrees above - 28 degrees at 8 P.M.
    Not much doing today.
    Dad and Don hauled hay this A.M.
    Dad took four doz eggs to Niwot this P.M.
    Got 25 cents a doz.
    Read in the Niwot Tribune today that Eileen Jones and Leonard Nelson were married
    Jan 24, '42.



    The building in Niwot as it looks today
    where the Niwot Tribune was published.
    At the corner of Franklin and Second Streets.

    Tuesday, February 5, 2019

    February 5, 1942 Diary

    Thursday, 36th day - 329 Days to Follow

    Written by Margie Arbuthnot

    28 degrees above at 7 A.M.
    Rather a disagreeable day - a cold west wind.
    Don and Dad fixed the fence around Haystack.
    Mrs. Clarke and Ella Davies called this P.M.
    Flo[erence] here this P.M. late afternoon.
    Club met with Mrs. Thorne this P.M.
    I didn't go, had too much of a cold.
    Cold this evening, still a west wind.
    Temp 30 degrees above at 8:30 P.M.


    Haystack Mountain and the fencing around it.

    This large hill has been important to the Arbuthnot family since they first arrived in 1859.  It is the highest peak before you get to the Rocky Mountains.  So it served well as a lookout, as you could see who was coming from miles away.  The Arapaho camped here as the Left Hand Creek flows to the south side of the mountain, this was one of their winter camps.  For the gold miners, when it was too cold to be in the mountains, up in the mining camps at Gold Hill, the men would come down to Haystack and live in a small miner's cabin there near where the Arapaho were camped.   After Fred's father, William, had returned from going back to Iowa, he brought with him a special kind of ax that cut holes into the wood fence.  There is no count of how many of these fence posts that were cut, but there were many that were used around Haystack Mountain and other of the old pioneer's farms. You can see these fence posts today at the Haystack Mt. Golf club house where they are used as a room divider.  In the 1950's, Fred donated the ax to the Boulder Historical Society, along with other items that his family had brought with them.  In later years, may farm women would use these fence posts as an edge to their garden by laying down the log.  They would plant flowers in the holes of the post.  You can see this done at the Old Mill Park in front of the Affolter Cabin in Longmont.

    Home of Fred and Margie Arbuthnot on Niwot Rd.
    You can see Haystack Mt, where Fred was born, to the left of the house.
    Photo taken in the 1970's.
    The old fence post made by Fred's father, William Arbuthnot.
    At Haystack Mt. Photo taken in the 1970's.






    Monday, February 4, 2019

    February 4, 1942 Diary

    Wednesday, 35th Day - 330 Days to Follow

    Written by Margie Arbuthnot 

    35 degrees above at 5 A.M.
    Not very warm this A.M. but warmer this P.M.
    Carol Jane and Darold here this P.M.
    Carol Jane here all day.
    Don took his cull hens to Boulder this P.M.
    Temp at 8 P.M. is 32 degrees above.

    Margie Ann (Coe) Arbuthnot feeding her chickens.
    Eggs were sold to the local dairy in Niwot.

    Sunday, February 3, 2019

    February 3, 1942 Diary

    Tuesday, 34th Day - 331 Days to Follow

    Written by Margie Arbuthnot

    16 degrees above at 7 A.M. 
    Dad went to Ditch Meeting today.
    Mrs. DeWalt spent the day with me.
    Myrna Dodd here this P.M.
    Dad & Mr. DeWalt back by three o'clock.
    Donnie went home with Don to help cull the hens.  He will stay all night.
    A new 8th grader pupil at Batcheldor today from the Poppy house.
    Yep tonight at 9 is 36 degrees and wind & rain from the west.
    Letter from Mass. today.  [from Margie's son Ken]
    The new neighbors on Poppe Place Sappington.


    Mr. and Mrs. DeWalt at Altona Grange

    The Left Hand Ditch Company

    The Left Hand Ditch Company was started by Fred Arbuthnot's family and other neighboring pioneers.  The first Left Hand ditch was dug high above Ward, Colorado first during the gold mining days, but later for the purposes of irrigating the land below.  In a Boulder Daily Camera article from January 18, 1957, Jewel Jenkins interviews Fred Arbuthnot and records what he recalls.  In his account, he credits his Uncle Jim Arbuthnot with finding the source where water could be diverted from the St. Vrain Creek into the James Creek.  Along with Jerome Gould, N. M. Henry, and Sam Arbuthnot, they organized for the plowing and hand digging of the first Left Hand Ditch.

    The company began in 1863 but wasn't officially recorded until 1866 with Jospeh H. Jamison as it's President.  Later, P. M. Hinman would be president, then Nicholas E. Bader.  Samuel Arbuthnot followed him and was President during the water wars.  A dispute in which the settlement established the Colorado Prior Appropriations water law.

    Fred's Uncle Fred Bader (whom he was named for) was an early Secretary/Treasurer for the company.  He was later replaced by Fred Arbuthnot, Margie's husband.  

    Since the building of the Altona Grange Hall in 1896, the annual meeting has been held here every February..



    The three Freds. Uncle  Fred Bader, Donald Frederick Arbuthnot, Fred Arbuthnot.
    Both Fred Bader and Fred Arbuthnot were Secretary of the Left Hand Ditch Co.

    First inside page of the first minute book
    of the Left Hand Dirch Co 1866



    Saturday, February 2, 2019

    February 2, 1942 Diary

    Monday, 33rd Day - 332 Days to Follow

    Written by Margie Arbuthnot

    10 degrees above at 7 this A.M.
    Cloudy most of the day.
    I didn't get up until noon.
    Two much of a cold but I feel better to nite.
    The sow has 4 little pigs tonite.
    Cloudy tonite.  Dad sent our Grange Insurance Assoc. today.
    22 degrees above at 8:30 tonite.
    Grange Assoc. $2.20

    Common Cough Syrup in the 1940's

    ½ C Water
    ½ C Honey (it would have been raw honey back then)
    ¼ C Lemon Juice
    ¼ C Cinder Vinegar
    2 Tbs ground ginger

    Heat until a good simmer.  
    Pour through a strainer or some cheese cloth.
    Allow to cool and jar it up.
    Give it a good shake before using.
    For adults, give two tablespoons. 

    Keep in mind that this was a tea-totaling household.  
    In other households, whiskey would have been substituted for the water no doubt.


    Friday, February 1, 2019

    February 1, 1942 Diary

    Sunday, 32nd Day - 333 Days to Follow

    Written by Margie Arbuthnot

    Temp 5 degrees at 7 A.M.
    I was sure feeling punk all nite from my cold.
    Donnie rode his bike to Niwot this A.M. with Lorn Hornbaker.
    Dad went to see Bob Burke this A.M.
    The girls [daughter's Una and Marjorie] came out at noon.
    Some west wind to nite.
    Don reported 6 baby pigs at his place when he came to to chore.
    Temp this evening 34 degrees above.
    Marjorie had a letter from Howard yesterday, from Ft. Riley.

    When Don and Florence (Hill) Arbuthnot were married, they were given a baby pig.  It was the runt of the litter owned by Charlie and Pauline (Brammeier) Dehn.  That pig served the family very well as it gave many piglets.  Eventually, when it was a large hog, this pig was sold and with the funds, Don and Florence purchased their dinning room set.  This table and chairs and a buffet served many family dinners in their home.  It's extensions made for more place settings at holiday meals.

    Don Arbuthnot with the hog that was sold for the dinning room furniture.