Category: Question of the Month

What was Grandpa’s first car? A 1947 midnight blue Ford with a “Suicide Door,” that opened the reverse of a normal opening. His brother, Joe, gave the car to Grandpa when Joe went into the seminary to become a priest. Grandpa taught his brother, Bill, to drive in that car.
His next car was a 1949 Plymouth that he bought from his cousin, Tim Gessing, for $15.00. Tim was an excellent mechanic. He started working on cars when he was fourteen years old.

What was his first job?  How old was he? Grandpa was a clerk at Furr’s Supermarket in what is now the Belcaro Shopping Center, when he was fourteen years old. At the age of sixteen, Grandpa went to work with his Dad as his plumbing assistant. Together they plumbed houses in Denver, Broomfield and Lakewood before being hired to build the Sigman meat processing plant in Brush,  Colorado,

Where  did Grandpa go for basic training? What branch of service? Grandpa joined the army in 1965 and was sent to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri for basic training. He volunteer for the army rather than being drafted so he didn’t need to spend more than two years in Vietnam.
What job did he train for in the army? Grandpa learned to be a welder before he was sent to Vietnam. He worked in the jungle, helping to build roads with the 595th Light Equipment Company. Grandpa’s job was repairing road-building equipment, including road graders and rock crushers, used to prepare gravel for paving. According to Grandpa, “You wouldn’t believe how torn-up the equipment was from clearing the jungle.”

What was his job when he worked at Buckley? Grandpa retired from Buckley AFB as a locksmith.
Before working at Buckley, Grandpa worked at the Auraria Campus as a hardware mechanic, at Colorado School of Mines, as a door mechanic and at Fitzsimons (later Anschutz Medical Center) as a locksmith.

What is Grandpa’s middle name? Stephen. He was named James after with grandmother’s brother.

What is his confirmation name? Christopher. He chose that name because he always liked the symbolism of St. Christopher carrying the baby Jesus to safety.

Where in the  mountains did Grandpa and Grandma live when they were first married? Idledale, Colorado. They bought their first home at the top of Grapevine Road for $15,000.00

What town in the mountains was first settled Grandpa Jim’s ancestors? Westcliffe, Colorado, a small town in Custer County known for its scenic views between the Wet Mountains and the Sangre de Cristo Range. You can read more about these early settlers in this month’s Meet the Ancestors blog.

What is the name of the cemetery where they are buried? New Hope Lutheran Cemetery. This is a beautiful small cemetery where a lot of Grandpa’s family is buried.