THE WOODMEN VALLEY CAPER
| Some
events leading up to the Caper include: |
|
In February of 1956 the whole family reunited at 43 Main St., Potsdam, NY, where Bill
was teaching mathematics at Clarkson Institute of Technology. We decided
that it would we nice to get back to Colorado, so Bill sought and got job offers at Colorado State University and Colorado
College and accepted the one at CC!
In September we moved back to Colorado Springs and rented a house
in Stratton Meadows at 1926 S. Franklin Ave., and Bill started teaching
mathematics at Colorado
College.
Then in August of 1957 we decided a move to a place in the country would be good.
We located a
house for sale in Green Mountain Falls and bought it.
This required a lengthy commute for Bill to CC (50 miles round
trip) and also lengthy rides for Ned, Kithie and Chris who rode the
school bus to Manitou Springs (16 miles round trip). |
Green Mountain Falls
The spring of 1960 found our family - Bill (34), Kith (33), Ned
(12), Kithie (9), Chris (7), Kyle (4) and Brian (2) - living in Green
Mountain Falls, Colorado. Bill commuted to Colorado College, where he was
teaching in the Mathematics Dept., and Ned and Kithie commuted by bus to school
in Manitou Springs (about eight miles each way).
* The paper: courtesy of their
grandfather, Edward Ogden.
When the possibility of Bill doing graduate work arose (see below), we sold
the house to Harlan Nimrod. Because we failed to retain any records, whether or
not we made any money from that deal is unknown...
Stillwater, Oklahoma
June, 1960, found Bill on a leave of absence from Colorado College, in Stillwater, Oklahoma, working on a Ph.D. in
Mathematics (Statistics) at Oklahoma State University, living in Cordell Hall on
the OSU campus, and
Kith and the kids (Ned, Kithie, Chris, Kyle and Brian) staying at
Oakdene. By September he had located a farmhouse on the outskirts of
Stillwater to rent (during the first inspection of the place, he
discovered a large snake inhabiting the living room, but with the help of an accompanying
friend, the snake was moved to the great outdoors.) Soon after the entire family
along with Helen Ogden Rose and her three children, Debra, Kelly and Gregory, were settled in for
the coming year. In October some ponies were purchased - the start
of a long tradition: Shadow, Murky, Kelpie (who produced Punch), Troika
and Flip (horse)!
| Chris on Shadow |
Kelpie, Chris & the Cart |
Kyle & Shadow |
Kithie & Kelpie |
The Pond & the Old School |
The Kids, Horses and the Pond West of the House |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
* The
paper courtesy of their grandfather...
| Kelpie produces a colt: Punch |
 |
 |
 |
Summer in Black Forest at the Cogswell's
During the following summer (1961) we and the Rose family
returned to Colorado Springs and lived at the Cogswell's place
in Black
Forest. I worked some more at Kaman Sciences to keep the wolf from the
door.
| Kith |
Barn & Kyle |
Horses |
Debra |
Kithie |
A Ride Across Kettle Creek |
Kithie, Ned & Chris |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
We take a trip to a dredge
pond on the Swan River
(west of Breckenridge) |
 |
 |
 |
. At the end of the summer we all moved back to Stillwater for another
year at OSU.
Back to Stillwater
| Christmas |
| Kyle & Santa |
Brian & the Tree |
The Kids and The Village |
 |
 |
 |
In the following August (1962) The Ph.D. was finally
finished.
|
At
Last
Bill's Ph.D. Thesis Examination |
 |
And - at last - back to Colorado!
We and the Rose family packed up and returned to Colorado
Springs, living temporarily at the home of Don Shearn (Psychology Department at
CC) which was located in Black Forest.
|
At Don & Merr Shearn's*
Summer, 1952
The second photo shows in the
background a glimpse of a TB house where the Rose family lived. (The
Gateley family lived in an ex-chicken house...)
The TB houses were originally
used at a tuberculosis sanitarium in Colorado Springs for their
patients. |
 |
 |
*
Don was a member of the Psychology
Department. at
Colorado College.
Shortly after, we purchase a home in Woodmen
Valley and move in on August 30th, which happened to also be
the day that Toby was born!
Helen rented a home--the Cactus House--in
Black Forest and moved in with her three children: Debra, Kelly and Gregory.
Woodman Valley - Route1, Box
205
This was our home from
1962 to 1976
Some highlights: Horses; 4-H; Woodman Valley Fire
Department; Ned, Kithie,
Chris, Kyle & Brian graduated from high school; Kith's mother
joined us in 1969; we built on an annex to our house.
|
Terms of purchase
* |
The Golden Cycle land which we bought in
1962 for $11,200 |
Purchase Terms |
 |
 |
|
* The price for the property in 1962 - $19,500 - was exactly what we paid for our
Subaru Forester van in 1999!
| The barn gets built- with
occasional help from the kids |
Chris in school
1963-64 |
Brian in school
1963-64 |
Kyle in
school
1963-64
1964-65 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| The House
- pre Annex - |
Chris, Niobe & Toby - June, 1969 |
Toby & Brian
Spring, 1969 |
Flip, Troika & Kithie
1966 |
Niobe, Tango &
Kith
June, 1967 |
The Opel |
Looking south
The Horse trailer |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| In August of 1963 we made a trip to Oakdene
and visited the Wahlers in Ohio on the way back. |
| Eating lunch |
Looking at the beach |
On the beach |
The Old Cottage |
Polly & Aunt Sammy |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| The Tempo's |
The Plymouth Station Wagon
New
Old
(Kithie
& Ned in
in El Paso,
Texas,
in 1951) |
Troika - 1963 |
Two kids in the van... |
The Woodman Valley Drill Team |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
We put 550 W. Woodman Road
on the market.
This included that part
of the Golden Cycle land which we had retained as well as the Hufft
property (which had been augmented by the addition behind, including
Doris Ogden's apartment).
It sold for $72,500!
(Note the realtor!)
|
 |
And Then...
In August of 1977, I
retired from my job with Kaman Sciences, we sold the house and the remainder of the
family (Kith, Toby and Bill) moved to Delling
Road, Wolcott, NY, for the Elsewhere
Caper
