Oh, well! I mentioned the Dog Days of Summer last week and before the Times came out we had a rain storm.
Happy Trails Clay!
So, Mr. Bauer, do you have anyone in mind to talk about this week?
I sure do and his name is Lewis Jarrett. Lew was an enterprising man and not only had a ranch west of Mancos but also owned a livery stable and feed on the southwest corner of South Main and First Street. He grew up in Pennsylvania and came to Mancos at the age of 20 filled with ambition and a desire to succeed. He was 20 years younger than me and 22 years old when he came asking for a loan to start a livery and feed store. I was more than a little apprehensive but he convinced me that his farm was paying off and would cover any loan I might offer him.
Lews livery became one of the main freighters between Mancos and Durango until 1892 when the train made freighting to and from Durango a thing of the past. By that time Lew had another means of bringing cash into his livery. He was taking tourists to Mesa Verde mostly by horse but also by wagon as far as the trail would permit.
Lew had little time to go out and buy up feed so he became one of Lou Soens best customers. Lew saw the first tractor powered threshing machine come into the valley. It was owned by a shirttail relative of the Spencers. It quickly changed how harvesting was done in the valley.
Lew slowed down enough to marry Nana Honaker when he was 28. She was the daughter of Augustus Honaker who built the first bridge over the Mancos River in 1882. With the $100 he was paid, he sent for his family that included his wife, a son and three daughters, one of whom became Lews wife.
One of the favorite pastimes early on was the debate teams. Lemmon, Soens and ( Lew) Jarrett were on one team with a few others and were opposed by Ratliff, Dr. Field, Judge Morris and others. Since we had to provide our own entertainment this was a big deal and it was named The Mancos Literary Society.
In 1891 Lew brought a partner on board who kept things going as Lew became more and more unable to put out much physical labor.
Lew moved to his farm in 1898 and enjoyed a few years with his family before a son passed away in 1902. One of his children had passed away not long after being born so Lew had only his wife and a son Carrol (who passed away in 1906) around him when he passed away in 1904 at the age of 37.
When Lew moved to the farm in 1898 he sold the livery to his partner, a young man by the name of Charles B. Kelly.