A holiday celebration of Loves

A cold and snowy night -- in a place we'd never heard of.

But the moment we walked through the door, we were delighted at what we found.  We were guests at a family reunion to honor Betty (Maiden) Love Jolovich at a remote guest ranch about 17 miles north of Buffalo, Wyoming.  

We've lived in South Dakota and Nebraska for a good number of years, and we've traveled quite a bit throughout Wyoming, but we'd never heard of this place:  The Ranch at Ucross.

Jan (Love) Tennold and her siblings -- Sandra, Matt and Beverly -- orchestrated this special reception and dinner to honor their mother, who is the last living child of William J. and Leota (Durham) Maiden.  They couldn't have chosen a nicer place.

But we have a feeling that no matter where they might have assembled, there would have been an outpouring of warmth and love that would have filled the room.  We counted 25 children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and other assembled family.  And we were fortunate enough to live close enough to receive an invitation the the festivities.

The afternoon was a time for family members to visit, tell stories, and catch up on activities.  From California and South Dakota to Arizona and Wyoming, there was an abundance of stories and lots of reminiscing.  What great fun for cousins and kinfolk to be able to come together for a holiday reunion.  The group paused long enough to be captured in the photo below.  You'll find a higher resolution version of this photograph in our Maiden Photo Gallery.  And we're working on compiling all the names for a caption, so please lend a hand!  A simple e-Mail note will do!

Following a reception and dinner at the Ranch House,  the group reconvened at the Lodge to view  an hour-long video that Larry and Karen Miller recorded at Betty's home in Dayton in 2008.  

We can think of no other way to celebrate the Christmas season that family coming together to share memories -- and to show affection for the lady who helped make it all possible:  Betty Maiden!  

With a gloomy medical diagnosis, this remarkable lady faces the future -- however short or long -- with great dignity and grace, and still nurturing the keen sense of humor that she has embraced for her 87 years.  While doctors count her future in months, we all know that her spirit -- and our memories of her -- will be alive for generations to come.  What a lady!

The Saga of Ed Durham

We've always been a sucker for a good story, and they're particularly enjoyable when they're true.

Having spent the better share of the past decade in the northern Black Hills of South Dakota, we've become somewhat familiar with the rich pioneer history that permeates these hills and surrounding prairies.  Of course, lots of indigenous people staked claim to much of this region, and -- in fact -- still do.

Having grown up in Dawes County Nebraska, just a few hours south of historic Deadwood, South Dakota, we've always known about the raucous history of this little mining town.  But during much of the past year we've been researching pioneer attorney Henry Frawley, who was not only successful in the courtroom, but who also amassed a hefty amount of real estate across Lawrence County.  Frawley was prosperous, but he was also considered something of a showboat.  One writer characterized him as the "F. Lee Bailey of his time."  Of course, Frawley practiced a good century before Bailey would make a name for himself in American jurisprudence.  

While researching Henry Frawley, I came across a fine book about the early pioneer days in the Black Hills written by John McClintock.   I found some interesting material about Frawley, but I also came across an intriguing article about one Ed Durham.

Readers of Maiden Archives know that the Durham name figures prominently in our ancestry.  A direct line ancestor of ours from Pennsylvania, David A. Durham (b. 1848) was father to Leota Irene Durham, who married William Joseph Maiden in 1915.  Thus came the Durham linkage to the Maiden clan that is the subject of this web site.

Knowing this, the following article piqued my curiosity.  We've not yet done any genealogical research to see if the Ed Durham discussed here was kinfolk, but we do know that we have Durham relatives still living in the Black Hills region of Wyoming.  

So, here's the short sad saga of Ed Durham, from McClintock's 1939 book, Pioneer Days in the Black Hills.