July... 1911 There was a lot of flooding in the early 1900s. Jacks granddad and grandmother had young children. at the time. The youngest was nine months old, the oldest was Jacks dad who was eight with two children in between. The meadows had all flooded. When the water abated,Grandpa B. built a kind of sweeper to be pulled by two horses, one on each side. With this home made tool, he and his hired men were able to clear the meadows of logs and other debris brought in by the flood. The meadows were still too muddy to hay so he decided to take his family and a wagon on a trip to Yellowstone Park. It was an ambitious endeavor because it was 300 miles away, .a good drive in a car , let alone a wagon with four little kids. Several neighbors got caught up in the fervor and decided to go also. They ended up with seventeen men, women and a few children. They packed up tents, a months worth of supplies and the mess box. We still have the mess box that went on that trip. . It took a week to get there. Clothes were washed in creeks along the way. The older kids rode horseback all the way. What an adventure that must have been for those young kids. A month later they were back at the ranch, ready to harvest what hay was left after the flood.
Posted on: Sat, 07 Jun 2014 04:22:59 +0000