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Note: N308 John’s father, John Clarence Russell, moved the young family to Indiana where they stayed briefly before taking advantage of the Homestead Act of 1862, whereby agreeing to farm 160 acres and build a 12x14 structure on it, after five years they would be given rights to the land. JC Russell moved his family by train to Conrad, MT, to start a dairy farm.
Conrad, MT, in the early 20th century was Blackfeet country and John used to tell tales of braves raiding their dairy farm especially during droughts. He also talked of having to round up the cows when the snow piled so high fences were nowhere to be seen and the cows wandered off looking for food.
John T Russell was the youngest and the only boy. He hand delivered milk in a pulled wagon to Conrad customers.
His father died when he was 12 and his mother and his two older sisters struggled to keep the dairy running. When his mother died two years later, the bank reclaimed the farm.
John stayed briefly with his oldest sister, Georgia but then moved to Denver with his sister, Emma, who had married a military man. From there he worked in the oil fields of eastern CO until they learned he was only 14. He also worked and lived with a trapper outside of Denver during one summer.
His uncle, Harry Russell, (Sara Okey’s grandfather), sent him money for a train ticket to Indy where he put John up in his house on Trowbridge Street, four houses down from Charles and Jenny Nauta and their four children, John, Gertrude, Frank and Jeannette.
John was expected to pay for his room and board by getting a job even while entering Tech as a freshman at 16. John drove a bread truck delivering bread to residencies in the early hours of the morning and then going to high school.
For decades, he and his high school relay team held the world record in Chicago.
Written by Roberta Russell Ponis, May 2012
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