Early Mornings and Hard Labor

Willis A. Baker and Victor C. Baker at Lilley Ranch in Jefferson, Colorado.

For many students, the day started long before the school started. Before heading to class, they had a full list of chores to complete—milking cows, feeding chickens, hauling water, and stacking firewood. By the time they arrived at school, they were already tired from a morning of hard work. As Budde Freeman recalled, “We had no football team at the time and when school was out, the boys worked on the ranches. A lot of them were rancher kids, you know, and they had to help their parents.”[1]

Little boy waving his hat in the air while riding a ram with large horns in a sheep pen.

These daily responsibilities taught children important lessons about responsibility and endurance, preparing them for the demands of adulthood. After a full day of school, another round of chores waited for them at home. Homework was often done by candlelight, squeezed in after the long hours of farm work. Despite the exhaustion, many students remained dedicated to their education. While some were able to continue their schooling into high school, others had to make the difficult choice to leave school early and work full-time to help support their families.