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Following is an interview conducted in the mid 1930s by Civil Works Administration employees who gathered reminiscences from citizens who had lived in this area since the early days.  All interviews are on file at the Colorado Historical Society's library, 1300 Broadway St., Denver, CO phone (303) 866-2305.

Interview Date:   Jan. 3, 1934.

I was born on Nov. 2, 1865 in Besarabin, South Russia, now Rumania, and came to the United States on May 1, 1839. We came direct to Akron, Colorado by train, then traveled by covered wagon train to Idalia, the trip taking us thee days owing to rain, snow and bad trails. To us this was the worst part of the whole journey. We left Russia on March 24, 1889.

I bought a relinquishment and lived with a neighbor while our sod house was being built. We got water from this neighbor's well. In 1891 I bought a homestead, and hauled water for three years from the neighbor from, whom I bought the relinquishment. When we moved into our sod house, we had just the board roof on it, and it started to rain, and the water poured in on us as hard as it rained outside. What a time we had trying to keep dry.

After three years of hauling water, I got a well bored, paying twenty cents per foot; then we had plenty of good water.

I did farming, and in 1891 and 1892 we had good crops, but 1894 was a bad year. We did not ever raise feed. I put up quite a bit of feed and hay when crops were good, and had that for my three head of horses and three cows. I sold feed to a number of the farmers living around, getting $1.00 a load.

Our farm was 32 miles north of Burlington and five miles from Idalia. We got most of our supplies from Idalia, and hauled some from Haigler, Nebraska. We sold eggs for five cents per dozen, and butter for six cents per pound: I worked wherever I could get a job for fifty cents per day, and was glad to get it. I was an expert stacker and got work quite often in different parts of this county.

In 1904 we had such terrible dust storms that we lost almost everything we had, so we packed up what was left and moved to Kansas, living there for 14 years. I still own 200 acres of land there, but can get nothing out of it. Then when the cyclones began to get bad in Kansas, we decided the dust storms were the better of the two evils, so we moved back to Colorado, and bought land, and have lived here ever since. My sons and I now own about 14 quarters of land, and it is all debt free. I was flat broke three different times, but always made a fresh start and got along, and made good. Farming is quite a proposition now; I believe we have lost more by hail in these latter years than we ever did before by the drought.

Mr. and Mrs. Hasart live in their own modest home in Stratton and are now retired.