Grandpa Volney

As I wrote the date today, July 14, I am reminded that this is my dad's birthday. He was born in 1902 - so he would be 106. There are a few who live to that age - but not many. I told something about his work on the railroad at our reunion. I'll just add a little here about the circumstances in which he grew up. He was born in Cowley, Wyoming, as was I, two years after his parents had settled there - coming from Utah. His father had built their first two room log home where he was born. "The walls were logs, the roof was small poles and willows with straw and dirt on top. The floor was covered with carpeting on top of the hard packed dirt until they were able to get lumber and build a permanent floor. His mother used cheese cloth to cover the walls and then put paper on the cheese cloth to make it warmer and more comfortable. The house was near the center of town and was near the church and school". Grandma told dad that the first water from the river reached the Cowley flat the night he was born. His father worked mostly on railroad construction and so was away from home often. Dad remembered what a great day it was when the first train came to Cowley. Dad's father, John, was on the first High Council and his mother was the first school teacher. The family endured many hardships trying to colonize this new country and when his father's health began to fail, his mother was appointed as postmistress - which brought in $30.00 per month. They had a farm "down on the bench" and Volney and his brothers worked there during the summers. His father passed away and was buried on July 14, 1913 on Volney's and his brother, Jack's birthday. I've taken this information from Volney's life story "Memories of Today and Yesterday", a copy of which I think all of our children have, in case you want to read more.