Hazel Kathryn Quint

November 4, 1898 - August 11, 1995


Story by Hazel K. Quint Parsons written May 27, 1970

Note from REP: My mother told me she changed her middle name in high school from Catherine to Kathryn.
Photo of Hazel, Sept. 1924

-----THROUGH THE YEARS by Hazel K. Quint Parsons

I was born on a farm near Beloit, Mitchell County, Kansas November 4, 1898. My parents, Louis Franklin and Isabell Flora Quint, and the family moved to Graham County in Western Kansas, in the spring of 1902. This move was made in a covered wagon covering the distance of approximately 100 miles in a week's time. I grew up on this farm 2 mile east and 1 mile south of Hill City. I attended the Highland school in the country, 1 mile south and 1 mile east of the farm, sometimes walking the distance, part of the time driving a horse and buggy. After graduating from there, I drove the three miles to Hill City where I attended the Hill City High School. I graduated in the spring of 1918 , valedictorian in a class of 32 students.
I was the youngest in a family of 11 children, 8 of whom grew to manhood and womanhood. My brother, Elmer, was just three years older than I and we were almost inseparable, working and playing together.

Photo of Quint Family, 1906 BACK: Clara, Florence, Clarence, Grace, Jennie, Mabel
FRONT: Hazel, Louis, Isabell, Elmer
I was pretty much of a "tom-boy" playing all games the boys played, working in the fields, doing chores and as Elmer and I became teenagers we always went to parties together. When Elmer went hunting or setting traps, I tagged along with instructions from the folks to "always follow behind" so there would be no hunting accident.

My sister, Clara, was fond of telling stories of mischief Elmer and I would ge into. In those days all little girls, as well as big ones, wore stiffly starched bonnets out-of-doors to keep off the sun. One day she had just washed and ironed my bonnet and put it on for me to go play. Soon she heard Elmer and me laughing and having so much fun, she thought it time to investigate. There she found me holding my bonnet under the pump, while Elmer pumped water into it. To her,"Hazel, what are you doing?". I replied, " Elmer pumped water in his hat, so I pumped water in my bonnet." She wasn't too happy about that.

Another story they tell which happened about the same time. One day Mother heard me call to "come and look". There I was perched on the back of one of the mule colts which was lying down by the well. Horrified, they coaxed me to get off before the mule jumped up!
Living in the country, we had no playmates except when we were in school. So Elmer and I built a little wagon, made harnesses for the calves and used to hitch up the calves to the wagon. Then, too, we always had horses to ride and used to ride bareback out in the pasture as fast as we could go. Our work consisted of pumping water for the animals, feeding the pigs and numerous chores that had to be done on the farm.
Photo of Quint farmhouse in 1962 before replaced.
The addition on the South (left) was added in 1913 to provide
room for Grandma Jackson when she came here.
Winter evenings we would pass away the time playing with paper horses and animals mother would cut free-hand out of paper. As we grew older we played dominoes and a few other games. Mother always took "The Youth Companion". a paper we loved to read.

The high-light of the summer was a picnic at Nicodemus, a negro settlement about 9 miles from our place. This was on August 1st which was celebrating "Emancipation Proclamation Day". Father always hitched up the team to the farm wagon early on that day and we all went to the picnic. The children and the young folks rode the ferris wheel, the merry-go-round, etc. and the older folks spent the day visiting with friends they would hardly see other times. We returned home late in the evening in time to do chores.

Mother made and sold butter to customers in Hill City and it was my job when I was old enough to deliver this butter. In this way, she paid for my music lessons on the organ. This organ had to be pumped with your feet while playing. When I was ready for High School, we sold the organ and bought a piano. I passed away lots of hours playing for my own enjoyment and for all the gatherings of the young people who come to our house for Sunday "sing fest"/ After I was married this piano was moved to Wallace, Kansas where I gave some lessons to neighborhood children. Florence, Grace, Elmer, and I enjoyed gathering around the piano of evenings after the work was done and singing a few popular songs.

After graduating from high school, I taught one year in a country school, then attend In the spring of 1919, I accepted a job in the County Treasurer's office in Hill City. Here I worked part of the time in the office of County Clerk preparing the tax rolls, in the fall returning to the County Treasurer's office to collect taxes. Grace was Register of Deeds at this time. She and I had many good times together and shared many personal experiences. Later I worked for Elen F. Howland in the Abstract office, and from this position went to work for the F. W. Kidder Abstract office at Norton, Kansas at a good increase in salary.
Photo of Marie Wheeler, Hazel 1923

In the fall of 1920 two new helpers were sent to the railroad station in Hill City. My girl friend, Marie Wheeler and I became quite well acquainted with these young men, and later she married Forest J. Logan and on the 21st of September 1924, I married Philip G. Parsons.
Photo of Philip G. Parsons, Forest J. Logan, 1922
We began housekeeping in the old section house at Hazeltine, Colorado, moving to Wallace, Kansas in the spring of 1925. During the three years at Wallace we made many friends in the community and often visited Marie and Forest Logan who were living at Monument, Kansas. Here at Wallace I worked part time in the Wallace County State Bank.
Photo of Wallace depot

We moved to Colby, Kansas in 1930 where we bought our first home. We enjoyed our stay at Colby in spite of the "dust bowl" years and the depression.
Photo Hazel & Phil, 1923
We had many good friends and all were struggling to "make ends meet" just as we were. I learned to sew, making over clothes for our two boys and doing anything which would help family finances a little. In 1943 we moved to Ft. Collins, Colorado for by this time most of Phil's work for the Union Pacific Railroad was in Colorado.

These were busy years for all of us. Phil was working many different jobs on the railroad and doing much driving which meant he had to be away from home many evenings. I kept house, worked in the PTA for the schools the children were attending, helped with Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Community work, etc.

The first summer in Ft. Collins found the boys eager to earn money. Our neighbor, Professor Young, had a large cherry orchard north of town. He asked the boys if they would like to pick cherries. They were elated to be offered a job and when the season was over, he paid them in silver dollars. These were the first silver dollars they had ever seen, and to be paid their wages in this kind of money was something marvelous to them. They counted these dollars over and over; Mr. Young told me afterwards how he and Mrs. Young sat on their front porch listening to the clink of the silver dollars at our house.
Photo of Ray, Bob, Neta and cousin Mary Alice Becker, 1942

That fall both of the boys became paper boys delivering The Coloradoan each evening, except Saturday, and early on Sunday mornings. This gave them their spending money and bought many things they had always wanted, besides teaching them the value of money. Since then we have had many of their former customers tell us "they were the best paper boys they ever had". In 1945 Bob began working for the Dairy Gold Creamery delivering ice, later delivering milk on Saturdays and Sundays after school started. He continued with the job until entering Colorado State College at Greeley in the fall of 1948. During the summers of 1949 through 1951 he worked as butter maker for Dairy Gold. In this way he earned a lot of his expenses in College.
Photo of Hazel and brothers and sisters 1959, Hazel Parsons in front
from left, Florence Morris, Clarence, Grace Gilliland, Jennie Dunwoody, Elmer
After graduating he spent four years in the Air Force, serving part of the time in Tripoli, North Africa and on the Island of Crete. After completing his tour of duty he entered Colorado University at Boulder then obtained a school in California and has been a successful teacher there.
Ray delivered a large route for the Coloradoan until he was a junior in Colorado A&M here in Ft. Collins, working one summer in clearing a right-of-way for the Power Company. He received the Peiterson scholarship when a sophomore and junior, teaching in Chemistry lab during his senior year. After graduating from Colorado A&M (now Colorado State University), he was granted a Fellowship at Oregon State College at Corvallis, teaching part time in the Chemistry field and working on his Masters degree. He finished his Masters in 1955.
Photo of Clara and Hazel, 1953
Later he became Research Chemist for DuPont at Wilmington, Delaware. All of this helped with his College education.
When Neta became old enough to want to earn money, she began taking baby sitting jobs. While attending CSU she worked at the College Library during summer vacations and during the College terms worked part time.
Photo of Neta, 1954
She graduated from CSU in 1959 with a double major in Occupational Therapy and Home Economics, choosing the field of Occupational Therapy for her work. Her first job was with the Ranchos Los Amigos Hospital at Downey, California.
In 1952, I went to work as Billing Clerk on the UPRR to help Phil during the coal billing season at St. Vrains, Colorado. When the job closed in March, I worked during the Income Tax season for Harold Greager's Accounting Office in Fort Collins, then accepted a job with the Utility Department of the City of Fort Collins.
Photo of Hazel, 1968
This I held until my retirement, December 31, 1965. Two of my prized possessions are the piece of luggage given me by the employees with whom I worked, and a "rocking chair" made of pipe cleaners by Bruce Fitz, husband of Muriel Fitz with whom I worked!
Photo taken summer of 1964 at 608 South Meldrum, Ft. Collins. Pictured are left to right:
BACK ROW: Bob Parsons, Donald Parsons, Marion (Parsons) Ross, Mary Louise Parsons, Erdeena Parsons, Polly Parsons, Neta (Parsons) Sharp, Hazel Parsons, Phil Parsons.
FRONT ROW (standing): David Parsons, Tom Parsons, Patty Parsons, Linda Parsons, Larry Parsons, Mark Sharp. Squatting in front: Barbara Parsons.
Since retirement, Phil and I have become interested in family history and genealogy and have spent many pleasant hours searching for information. We have visited the Genealogical Library in Salt Lake City, Utah on various trips; made trips into Kansas, Iowa and Illinois, and hoe to visit points of interest in Maine and Massachusetts.
Photo of Hazel in California, 1974 next to Bob's Orange tree
We have met many nice people on these trips and became acquainted with distant relatives we had never known.

We are typical parents and grandparents, being quite proud of all of our children an their mates, and of our nine grandchildren.
Photo, 1981 BACK (from left): David, Phil, Bob, Patty (holding Amanda), Mark, Neta
MID ROW: Mary, Patty (holding Tony), Larry, Hazel (holding Jennifer), Erdeena
FRONT: Kathie, Kelly, Becky, Ray, Tom

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