Red Feather oral histories now online

An oral history project by the Red Feather Historical Society is now posting transcripts of interviews with Red Feather’s older residents online.

There are now 11 transcripts, and project leader Linda Bell promises more will be added in the future.

Printed interviews are also available at the Red Feather Lakes Community Library. The notebooks must remain within the library, but director Creed Kidd promises that other copies will soon be available for checkout.

The interviews are alive with detailed memories of the life and times of many of the more notable families in the Red Feather area. Rick and Zella Robinson, for example, give details of their personal and family histories dating back to 1882 when family members first settled in the Elkhorn area.

Gene Barker moved to Red Feather Lakes in 1935 when he was 11 years old. He tells of his boyhood adventures and a long history in construction, diamond mining and other ventures.

A history of lakes, ditches and water management is related by Dennis Frydendall from his long experience with the Red Feather Storage and Irrigation Co. and his history as president of the Red Feather Property Owners Association.

Picturesque Batterson Barn, the first homestead in the Gordon Creek area, has its secrets revealed, as does the famous Christmas wreath manufacturing business that once “employed the whole town.”

Other interviews include longtime postmaster and store owner Ted Dunning, as well as Lafi and Juliana Miller, Margaret Reid, Evelin Tamlin, Emma Grauberger and the Higley family. An interview with the late Don Weixelman, a major real estate developer in the area, gives historical details of land acquisitions and turning former ranches into mountain home subdivisions.

Many historical and current photographs illustrate these incomparable stories. These intimate recollections and their rich details can be viewed on the website of the historical society at www.redfeatherhistoricalsociety.com.