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In the fall of 1931 the folks, the Jacob Lebsacks of Proctor, Colorado, needed an other beet hauler. Ted Dobler, the third son of John and Magdalena Dobler of Bethune was in need of a job and this seemed to fill the bill. After he had been there two weeks, we began picking up the mail at Proctor, and this was the beginning of a 3 year courtship. On February 22, 1934, we were married at the family home at Proctor, and moved into our adobe "Honeymoon Cottage" on Ted's farm 9 miles northwest of Burlington. Times were hard and after planting another corn and feed crop that dried up (no irrigation in those days) we locked up our little house and moved back to Proctor and Ted again went to work for the folks. These were the Dust Bowl days. It was so hard for us to leave Ted's family, his folks and 5 brothers. The following year we rented a farm and raised sugar beets and alfalfa on our own. In March of 1937 our first child, Carol Jean, was born and lived only a very short time. This was a very trying time, but then in November of 1938, Bonnie Joy was born, and she was a "Joy". We still had our farm at Burlington, but it was still dry and dusty there so we stayed on the farm at Proctor for a few more years. In 1941 Stanley Edwin was born, a big happy baby. Also, by then it had rained back in Burlington, and the wheat fields and pastures were greening up once again. We moved our little family back to our adobe 2 room house. Now dreams of a larger more modern home began, but a severe hail storm right before harvest time soon took care of that idea. We kept busy raising wheat, corn and feed for the cattle and horses. There were always cows to milk, with cream to sell, and chickens which also gave us eggs to sell. This was the chief source of grocery money for the family. In 1944, my sister, Leona's, husband passed away and she and her two little boys came to stay with us for a month. We had just completed the construction of a large adobe barn with a big hayloft, so some of us slept there. A definite feeling of "closeness" prevailed, with 3 adults and 4 children in a 2-room house. In 1944 we started on our new house, doing most of the work ourselves, with the help of Grandpa and Grandma Dobler. In 1946 we moved into the basement of the big house. Thomas Earl was born in September of that year. Our new home with electric lights and running water, and even an indoor bathroom was quite an improvement after living in the little -room house. The family kept busy year around with the livestock, but especially so in the summer time. We always raised chickens and sold friars to many of the people in Burlington, as everyone liked farm fresh produce. A big garden also furnished food for the family through the winter. In the fifties another drouth hit the area, and some of the men went away to work, this time with the women and the families remaining here to keep the children in school. This meant selling the cattle, as there was no feed in the area for them. In 1961, we put down an irrigation well and were once again able to bring the dry land back to life. We raised sugar beets, corn and alfalfa. By this time Bonnie had graduated from Burlington High School and had gone to work as a secretary at the Kit Carson County Courthouse. In 1957 she had married Dean Witzel. Stanley had also graduated from BHS and was now a student at Colorado School of Mines in Golden. Tom farmed with his father until he joined the Marine Corps shortly after his graduation from BHS. Music was a real enjoyment to this family, especially to Ted. As a young man he had played the trumpet for a community band, and later he sang tenor for the Harmonaires quartet for more than 20 years. He also sang with the Christian Business Men's Chorus, that met regularly each Thursday night at Hendricks Mortuary for practice. In 1966 Ted became seriously ill and Tom returned to take over the farm. Stanley married Joanne Orebek from Minnesota, who was a student at Loretta Heights College in Denver. He graduated from Mines in 1964 with a degree in Petroleum Engineering. Their first job was in Bakersfield, California, where their 2 sons, Brent and Brian were born. By now Dean and Bonnie were on a farm and ranch south of Burlington and had 3 children, Douglas, Dena and Donn. In 1968 Tom was married to Rose Bartlett from Champaign, Illinois, and they took over the farm. We built a new home in town in the Permer addition to Burlington. Ted drove to the farm to help as much as he could as long as he was able. On July 30, 1981 Ted Passed away following a lengthy illness. During our life together we were able to travel to many different parts of the country- We visited our children and grandchildren, and sometimes just went for the pure enjoyment of it. From Canada to California, to the Mardi Gras in Louisiana or the Bahamas, home was always a welcome place to come back to. I worked at many different vocations during our lifetime and each job was rewarding in its own way. I worked in the office of Burlington Livestock Sales for 21 years, at the Burlington Rest Home during the dry fifties, and since Ted's illness began, I have babysat with many children, most of them newborns, of working mothers, and have loved each and every one of them. These little ones, my family, and my friends are a very valuable part of our community, of which I am proud to be a part of. Hopefully, our heritage will be passed down through my 10 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren. |