|
a.
|
Note: Death Certificate, No. 07219, Mesa County, Colorado. Copy in posession of K. Ufford. Obituary: "Herbert R. Milholland Collbran - Herbert R. Milholland, 81, a rancher on Georgia Mesa since 1912, died at 3 am today in Plateau Valley Hospital, following an apparent heart attack. Mr. Milholland first came to the Plateau Valley in 1910, and worked for Tom McKelvie before he acquired his own ranch. Active in community affairs for many years, he was currently serving as president of the Collbran Conservancy Mesa Reservoir Co. He attended Molina Baptist Church. Mr. Milholland was married twice. His first wife, Nina Belle Skinner, to whom he was married Feb 12, 1912, died Nove 23, 1964. He married Bessie Wheeler Aug 19, 1968. Surviving in addition to his wife are four sons, Herbert Jr. of Grand Junction, Gordon of Molina, Howard of Twin Falls, Idaho and Stewart of Collbran; two daughters, Mrs Ortis Bucher of DeBeque and Mrs Ernest Chapman of Collbran; 20 grand children and 18 great grandchildren. " Birth record, Chandlerville, County of Cass, State of Illinois. Vol. 6, Cert # 3252. In posession of K. Ufford. Many of the names and dates relating to the Milholland family came from a family Bible that belonged to Herbert Ray Milholland. Marriage Certificate in posession of K. Ufford. 1930 Census, Mesa County, Colorado Herbert R Milholland, age 40, bp = Ill, fbp = Ill, mbp = Ill, age at first marriage 22, farmer Nina B, wife, age 40 bp = Neb, fbp = IA, mbp = NY, age at first marriage 22 Hertert R Jr., son, age 14, bp = CO Gordon D, son, age 13, bp = CO Frances E, daughter, age 10, bp = CO J Howard, son, age 7, bp = CO Helen L,, daug, age 5, bp = CO Stewart C, son, age 1, bp = CO Kathy Ufford spent many summers visiting grandparents, Herbert and Nina. Enjoyed visiting with many aunts, uncles and cousins too. "Some Milholland Memories" In the late 1960's, Loura Milholland Gammill's son, Kenny, wrote about some of his memories for his children and grandchildren. "The associations I recall best were those with Uncle Herbert on his cattle ranch south of Molina, Colorado. Uncle Herb had helped in (Dad's) farming ventures in eastern Colorado, had struck out on his own, worked as a cowboy on the McKelvie ranch which then was a big "spread" near Collbran; married Nina Skinner, belle of a banking and ranching family of Plateau City in 1912, and started his own ranching venture at the north edge of Georgia Mesa. ". . . a snap shot of 1915 of Grandmother (Nancy Elizabeth Rogers) Milholland, little Kenny and Herb, Jr., at the age of 5 months, marks that year as the one in which Grandmother and I spent much of the summer and into September, at Uncle Herb's. We went over by train, presumable, shortly after Herb,Jr.'s birth so that Grandmother could help Aunt Nina with housework after the birth of her first child. I recall the log cabin they lived in; that Uncle Herb's saddle horse was a black named Shorty; and Aunt Nina's bay riding horse that she rode in a divided skirt, was named Lady. Uncle Herb must have shown me a bit about roping and riding that summer; for many years we had a snap-shot of me atop a colt in Uncle Herb's big, stock saddle; and I recall "snitching" his rope (lariat) from his saddle, getting the loop around the neck of a new-born calf . . and being dragged for "hours" . . until Uncle Herb finally discovered my plight and released both me and the calf. "Two years later (1917), Homer and I were put on the train at Longmont in the care of the conductor. Uncle Herb met us with a team and a spring wagon at DeBeque and we drove to the ranch behind a team of strawberry roans named Mutt and Maude. That summer I recall many rides behind Uncle Herb, clinging to the saddle strings or his waist, probably atop old Funsten. To my mind, it was a mark of my uncle's success that he owned 26 horses, despite the fact that his business was cows. ". . . the summer of 1925 . . Homer and I drove his Model T Ford coupe through 10-foot snow cuts atop Fall River Pass to Molina and Uncle Herb's. Homer worked at nearby ranches . . .and I headquartered at Uncle Herbs, working between the valley and Georgia Mesa in the haying . . "Years later as she lay in her hospital bed in Colorado Springs, Aunt Nina and I had a lot of fun comparing the recollections about that summer. She remembered, of course, the responsibilities of supervising a "full of beans" 15-year-old; I recalled "practically running' the ranch when the crane arm on the stacker broke and fell on Uncle Herb, injuring his leg; trying to do a family wash or pick raspberries with baby Helen on my hip when Aunt Nina was sick and Helen would not permit anyone else to care for her; driving a "spooky" team of half-broken, gray horses in front of a hay "slip" on a nearby ranch; helping Uncled Herb fulfill his road maintenance contract on nearby roads; taking Gordon "snipe hunting" and helping him and Herb, Jr. take forbidden rides on bucking calves in the calf pasture; falling off old Babe, 3-year old Howard's sallde horse while tenaciously clinging to an irrigation shovel. And I remember . . having to stay back and "run the ranch" while Uncle Edgar accompanied Uncle Herb on the fall round-up of cattle on The Mesa. I remember feeling that it "served him right" when my easterner Uncle Edgar came back with a sore leg; he let his mount "go to sleep" and they didn't move fast enough to avoid a charging bull on the round-up." What great memories. What a great life. What a great family, those Milhollands.
|
