The Stories They Told Us: Life in the Old West

By Donald Edmund

This is an unofficial oral history as told by the descendants of the people who lived and died in an 1880s Silver Mining Boom town. The stories were not 'coaxed', but were related to me by these wonderful 'Old Timers' as we visited in their homes. Several of the stories were written down by Grandchildren as their Grandparents reminisced around their dinner tables. Sometimes we heard several variations of the same story which was experienced from different perspectives. For example: Ranch Boss versus Cowboy. Several of the people had none, or very scant formal education, but all of them were expert in their field . They included a Mountain man, a Ranch Boss, a Cowboy, a Sawmill man. The ladies were accomplished at making or providing all of the household needs, such as food, clothes, furniture, and as best they could, education for their children.My wife and I, new in New Mexico, were fortunate to be "lost' on Labor Day Weekend, 1977, and inadvertently drove into Chloride, New Mexico. The tumbled down houses and boarded up False Front buildings mesmerized us. When we met an elderly couple who were willing to answer our questions, we spent the remainder of the day listening. They informed us that we were parked on Wall Street (a grass covered dirt road) which was the main, and only, street. We were so captivated with the town and the several elderly residents that we arranged to purchase one of the derelict houses that day, from an absentee owner. For the next 15 years, until their deaths, we listened to stories about their lives, their struggles and their triumphs.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1549979221
• ISBN13: 9781549979224
• Release Date: November 2017
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.5" x 6.0"