Some of my earliest memories surrond a trip my parents made along with my maternal grandmother. We arrived somewhere in Colorado to a farm where some one special lived. My parents came to the door and were greeted by an elderly couple that came out and hugged my Grandmother and mother. I came to realize later that they were the parents of my Grandfather Clay long past away leaving my Grandmother a widow to raise her only child my mother Elaine.
My Great Grandfather had a Parakeet perched on his shoulder he called Corky, and to me he seemed taller than anyone else there. He took me over to a shelf where he brought down a Silver Star with the words "Deputy Sheriff Fremont Colorado" on it. It became a real treasure to me and I spent many hours with a childhood Hopi friend wearing it while we chased imaginary bank robbers and cattle rustlers. I still have it locked in a safety deposit box with other things of value for I would never choose to loose it.
Ed Spalding had been a Civil war veteren and had been shot as a young lad in the leg by a Confederate Musket ball. (He still had a limp for the musket ball was still in him.) He moved out west to Colorado where experience with a revolver stood him in good stead as a Deputy Sheriff. When we made our visit he was 94 and my great Grandmother in the picture was still with him.
We made one last visit to see them and I asked where Corky was and he told me that he got knocked out and didn't make when he ran into a door jam. My sister found this old photo of him with my Grandfather as a little boy in my Mothers stuff and made a present of it to me. It was interesting to see them when they were younger and to compare my vague memory of our vist 50 years ago.
Dave Sharp
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