Item NumberPPLDoh-i-10dTime Coverageca. 1917-1940Date Interview4/26/1976DescriptionOral history interview with Harry Collier of Limon, Colorado. Mr. Collier came to Colorado in 1917, at 15 years of age. He and his father started a cattle ranch on open range near Holly, Colorado. He describes how he and his father came to Colorado from Mercer, Missouri, his father riding on an immigrant train with their two cows, while he drove out in a Model T automobile. He describes the trip. He talks about the difficulties they encountered farming and ranching on Colorado's eastern plains, due to the climate conditions and the harsh weather. He describes the process of preparing the prairie land for farming, breaking the sod with horse-drawn plows. He laments the loss of the native buffalo grass and the consequences that plowing the prairie had on the land. He offers interesting detailed commentary on living through the big dust storms during the Dust Bowl era and the difficult economic times of the 1930s, including the government's WPA (Works Progress Administration) relief efforts in the area. He talks about social activities on the Colorado Plains, such as rodeos and dances, and discusses the influenza epidemic of 1918. Then he describes everyday activities working on the family's ranch and the life of a working cowboy. He also talks about digging water wells, big snowstorms, and jackrabbit and coyote drives to deal with the overabundance of those animals.NarratorCollier, Harry, 1902-1989InterviewerTeeuwen, RandallGeographic CoverageHolly (Colo.)Prowers County (Colo.)Great PlainsSubjectEmigration and immigrationGreat Plains--HistoryDust Bowl Era, 1931-1939RanchesRanchingCowboysGreat DepressionUnited States--Works Progress AdministrationCollectionOral HistoriesColorado Centennial - Bicentennial Oral History ProjectLanguageenPublisherPikes Peak Library DistrictRightshttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/Original Format1/4-inch reel-to-reel audio tape
