Bill Rutherford from Baca County Book

Again the following comes from the Baca County book published in 1983.

I remember being at the family homestead in the middle 1950's as a pre-teen and going along what was probably Bear Creek with Tom & some of our boy cousins. The creek was not running. It was a series of pools some of which had fish in them. We were always interested in fish.

Then we were driving somewhere and there was a tremendous thunder and lighting storm and when we got whereever we were going the electricity was out and there were kerosene lanterns.

Bill Rutherford

James A. (Bill) Rutherford came to Vilas from Ochiltree, Texas in July 1910. He lived with his mother, brothers, and sisters in various places near Vilas until his mother homesteaded in 1911 on Bear Creek 3 ½ miles northeast of Vilas.

He attended school in Eureka and Vilas and graduated from Springfield High School in 1927. In 1928 he enrolled in college in Greeley, but had a serious motorcycle accident and was unable to continue. The doctors said his leg would have to be amputated, but his brother Tom, who was also attending college there, would not allow it, so his leg was saved. For many years, splinters of bone worked their way out of it and it has remained larger than the other leg.

When he regained the use of his leg, he returned to farming for his mother.

In 1938 he married Edith Bryan and they lived on the family homestead. Edith was a native of Baca County and taught school in Springfield and Pritchett. She was a graduate of Colorado Teachers College in Greeley. After their marriage she taught at Glendale and Vilas.

They had 6 children; James, Wesley, Ronald, Darrell, Farrell, and Leatha, all of whom still live in Baca County except Wesley and Leatha.

On April 7, 1957, Edith succumbed to a heart ailment. At that time the boys were all in school, but Leatha being barely 5 years old, became a constant companion of her daddy.

The oldest boy James, does farming and carpentry. Wes attended P.A.M.C. at Goodwell, Oklahoma, and University of Colorado at Boulder. He took R.O.T.C. and served in Korea. While there he married and they live in Kansas City, Missouri where he works for Bendix Corporation. He has 3 children; Connie, Billie, and Bonnie.

Ron, Darrell, and Farrell attended P.A.M.C. and graduated from there. They also took R.O.T.C. and became lieutenants, but served in the United States.

Farrell while stationed in Ft. Belvoir, Virginia, married Nancy Gates, of Alexandria, Virginia. They have 4 children; Thomas, Kristina, Rebecca, and Donald.

Ron, Darrell, and Farrell farm the family homestead. Bill has retired to raising garden, chickens, and cattle.

Leatha attended Friends University at Wichita, Kansas. After graduation she taught school at Valley Center, Kansas. Later she and her husband started a lawn and garden service and she is now helping coach girls basketball at Friends University. Her husband is Norman Hein from Gate, Oklahoma.

Darrell married Cheryl Berry, from Denver, who was teaching in Taiwan. They had a very interesting roof-top wedding, the wedding music was accompanied by the horns of the street traffic below. She now teaches at Vilas.

In December 1957, Bill married Opal (Cope) Oliver, who was teaching school in Springfield. She took early retirement and took care of his home and children until Leatha was a senior in high school. Vilas needed a kindergarten teacher and the half day fitted well with her work at home. She retired in 1978. They still live on the place his mother homesteaded in 1911. By Bill and Opal Rutherford