[Country News] Bovina, Colorado
BY BEN ORRELL || MEMBER SERVICES SPECIALIST
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Just east of Genoa and west of Arriba on I-70 is an overpass that says it is the exit for Bovina. What was once a bustling community is now only foundations from the past and home for a couple of families. Bovina was once the largest town in Lincoln County with 250 residents. A couple of years ago I read a book called The XIT Ranch of Texas written by J. Evetts Haley. He mentioned that large herds being driven out of Texas to Montana and points north watered at Bovina. I wanted to know where and I was told that Stacy Sitton was the guy to contact for any and all information about Bovina. I was privileged to spend several hours with Stacy and Bertha Sitton who have lived there since the late ’40s. Stacy and Bertha came from Kansas after Stacy was discharged from the army. He had trained as an infantryman in Oregon and was assigned to the 96th Infantry Division (The “Deadeye” Division of World War II). He was sent to Fort Lewis, Washington, to ship out but was told he was going to be discharged because of a bad leg. He argued long and hard but wasn’t able to ship out with his buddies. His unit went to Okinawa and suffered 80 percent casualties. He came home and worked on a wildcat rig in 1945. Bertha was teaching school in Ness City, Kansas, and they fell in love. They married in 1945 on “lucky day” as they call it. It was April Fool’s Day, it was Easter and it was Sunday. Bertha’s mother cried and said the marriage would never work. I questioned what brought them to Colorado. Simple answer: Land had become expensive in Kansas and was still affordable here in Colorado. They first bought 480 acres 10 miles north of Bovina but it had no improvements. Stacy broke out 320 acres and raised his first crop of 35 bushels per acre. Unfortunately that was the last crop he produced there for five years. Farming has always been tough. (Carlyle James, #1269000001) Bertha didn’t ask for much but felt that a house was in order so they bought 40 acres in Bovina with a house that had been the home of a railroad worker. It was between old Highway 24 and the railroad. Even then most of Bovina was gone. The Depression had run most of the people off, and they had gone to the Front Range to find work.
When Stacy and his family moved to Bovina they increased the size of the town back to 29 people. Stacy spent some time talking to the postmistress in Bovina and learned much of the history of the area. At one time Bovina had three grain elevators, a beanery, a lumberyard, a grocery store, a broom factory, drugstore with a dance hall upstairs and a filling station that doubled as a place to gamble. Eventually the postmistress’ son put together a large book chronicling the history. His name was Duane E. Kaufman and his book is entitled Bovina, Colorado Revisited. Bovina is obviously named for bovines. As I mentioned earlier, large herds came through on the way north. They were watered just east of Stacy and Bertha’s place in a springfed lake. I questioned why there wasn’t water there anymore, and Stacy bristled a bit and said that when they built the interstate they filled in the lake with excess dirt from the cuts through the hills. (This occurred without his permission and was done while he was custom cutting in Kansas.) Cattle that weren’t destined to be driven farther north were corralled at Bovina in large corrals north of the current highway, loaded into rail cars and shipped to market. Cattle herds, whether being shipped by rail or being moved on north, required a lot of cowboys and they came in to Bovina and gambled, drank and danced. High times in old Bovina back then. (*WIN, Cathy Levin, #809500003) Stacy and Bertha have worked hard all their lives and did well in both farming and ranching; however, Stacy said that there were more times when the cattle paid the bills than there were when the wheat did. They were a part of two grazing associations, one north of La Junta called the Timber Lake Grazing Association (110 sections) and one near Cheyenne, Wyoming, called the Lazy D Grazing Association (68 sections). They ran cattle from the ’60s until the ’90s. Stacy ran 400 yearlings on the Timber Lake and 300 on the Lazy D. He was vice president of the Lazy D Association for a number of years and continued to serve on the board of directors until the ’90s. On the home place (Bovina), he ran his registered Angus cows and raised registered bulls. We ended the interview by walking the grounds of “old” Bovina. Did I mention that
Stacy and Bertha Sitton of Bovina, Colorado, recall the history of the now small, quiet town.
Stacy is 90 years of age? That didn’t keep him from taking me on a walking tour through the former streets of Bovina. He pointed out where each building had been and showed me the former location of the three grain elevators. He had personally hauled many loads to those same elevators. We walked the site where the shipping pens and corrals had been. They were still there when he moved to Bovina. He showed me where the large dug well was that the railroad used to supply the steam engines. We attempted to visit the Bovina cemetery but were turned back by snow drifts. Stacy said that many people come to visit the cemetery, and he has become good friends with people from New York who have family buried there in the Bovina cemetery. As we drove back into the driveway at the home place, I thanked Stacy for his time and bid him farewell. Not so fast. Bertha had prepared lunch. I resisted, but in vain. I am glad I lost. She is a marvelous cook and her soup hit the spot on a cold, blustery day. After lunch I said goodbye and left knowing much more of Bovina’s history but, more importantly, knowing that I had just made friends with two special people. I won’t pass that Interstate 70 exit sign to Bovina again without thinking about its history and the people who keep the history alive. Thanks, Stacy and Bertha. ColoradoCountryLife.coop March 2013 9