Highlites from U.S.A.

At this time in our family' life, we were living in Chicago. I was about eleven or twelve. My Mother (Hazel DeBoo) had given me a silver charm bracelet...she had first purchased the chain and then for several years, for important days, I would receive another charm. This was a big thing in those days.

About 40 miles north of Chicago was a town called Libertyville where I had many friends in elementary school. One day, I had been visiting with them and on the way back to the city, I noticed my bracelet was gone. I was devastated but said nothing. My Mother was driving and had noticed nothing. However, during supper she noticed that the bracelet was gone and tearfully I told my story. She had me tell her exactly where I had been that day. Of course, I didn't know, but that didn't seem to make any difference. Off she went back 40 miles in the dark with a flashlight. I was stunned. Whether or not she found this tiny little silver bracelet I could not believe her perseverence and her love. Hours later she returned with the bracelet to a young child who, seventy years later, could remember that night.

- Jean Ennis, Etowah, North Carolina

A Beautiful Project Car

[Editor's note: Hazel DeBoo, one of Isaac's daughters (please see Canada Section), was grandmother of Richard Ennis, contributor of this piece and proud owner (with his son Matthew) of the Cobra.]

My son Matthew (age 21) and I built this kit car March to August 2003. It is a Factory Five Racing Cobra (www.factoryfive.com). The 'base' kit costs $12,000. With options such as heater, top, upgraded suspension, etc., we paid about $15,000. Engine and drivetrain, wheels, dash gauges were extra. Total cost: ~ $20,000.

The finished car weighs less than 2,000 lbs. with our ca. 250 hp engine. I drive a 2002 Corvette daily; the Cobra is faster. A friend nearly lost control in my driveway! Although it is not a practical winter car, it is fun and exciting to drive.

- Richard Ennis, Morristown, New Jersey

Mountain Trip 1999 - Day One. This year we had our share of difficulties getting the mountain trip under way. The trip may seem simple to most, but planning the trip and getting horses and equipment ready, plus getting groceries, all takes a considerable bit of time. First of all, the summer weather did not cooperate. It was a hot and dry summer and the Forrest service put a ban on any open burning in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. We were hesitant to go because, simply put, camping isn’t camping without a campfire. But, despite the “no open burning” restriction we decided to go anyway. Louis would just throw in the Coleman camp stove this year so we could cook on it. When Mona and Bobbie went grocery shopping, they were supposed to pick up the camp fuel, but forgot. At the last minute they remembered that one of the group, Jackie, could still pick some up before she arrived the morning we were to leave.

This year we had a crew of nine mountaineers. Louis DeBoo, Misser Man, age 6, Tiffany age 9, Evan age 11, J.J. age 12, all grandchildren of Louis DeBoo and two daughters’ Mona and Bobby along with a couple of friends Teresa Layne Wagner and Jackie Day. We had nine riding horses; five pack horses, two colts, and a dog-named Red. After finally getting packed up and on the trail from Swift Dam, west of Valier, everything was going pretty good. It was warm out, but cloudy to the west. About three hours into our trip and just before we turned onto another trail, the clouds opened up and burst forth. It sprinkled at first, but that didn’t last long before it started a steady down pour. We rode for about another hour or so before we made camp at Seedling Creek. Everyone was drenched and cold.

Day Two. We had a delicious breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and bacon. It was kind of tough getting things regrouped this morning as we were trying to get our stuff dried out. We broke camp around noon and kept heading south on the trail. We were trying to cover extra ground because of our short ride the day before, so we stopped for a quick lunch and continued to ride. We went by the Teton Ranger Station. Dad was in the lead and about a mile along this trail he got to see a grizzly bear before Red chased it off. The rest of us didn’t get to see it. There was still a light drizzle off and on while we rode. By this time we were heading pretty much west again. We went up Washboard Reef, which is probably one of the worst trails we’ve ever been on with a pack string. The trial wasn’t maintained and we were pulling pretty much straight up the mountain. What a rough ride! But we made it! It was getting toward evening time-probably around five or six o’clock by then. Once we were at the top it was quite a view!! It seemed to take forever to get down the other side of the mountain! We then turned onto another trail, and we had to clear trail in a spot or two to get through. We didn’t arrive into camp until about 8:30 that evening. Talk about being beat! Our horses knew where we were, as we had camped in this spot last year. All in all I would say we rode about 25 miles or so. The wood was pretty damp here too, so starting a fire wasn’t one of the easiest chores this evening either. By the time it was hot enough to cook over, all anyone had the energy to cook was Ramen Noodles. (Mona was the chef most of the trip) The kids were really good for as long of a day as we put in. No complaints from anyone about going to bed!

Day Three. After another good breakfast we got our stuff together and headed down the trail. The kids had a non-stop chatter line going. Today we were going up Switch Back Pass. It was quite chilly, but not bad while we were in the timber. As we started to climb up the pass, it was getting windier and there was a light drizzle. We were in some of the most beautiful country we’ve ever seen. The higher we climbed, the more beautiful it became. When we got quite high, we stopped to take pictures and give the horses a breather, but it was too windy and cold to stop for long. As we were riding along this high altitude we were able to see Lake Lavalle at a distance. Simply beautiful. (If only it had been a bit warmer!) While we ride along we all look out for one another and if someone falls behind someone usually yells ahead to have the riders in the front stop and wait for the one who feel back, to catch up. Well, we were still riding up the pass and going up switchbacks in the trail when one of the kids or Teresa hollered up to the front riders that Mona’s horse was following in the back, but Mona wasn’t on! So we stopped. But where we stopped was very steep over the edge, the trail was very rocky, and it was still getting windier. The horses didn’t like that at all. So Dad looked up ahead and it wasn’t but another 100 feet or so to the top. When we got to the top we tied up real quick, and Dad, Bobbie, and Jackie went running down the trail as Mona still hadn’t shown up. We were very worried. It didn’t take long before we saw her and Tiffany coming up the trail leading Tuco, whom Tiffany was riding. What happened was Tiffany was in the back of the pack string. There was a large, flat rock in the middle of the trail. All other horses made it over without any slips. When Tuco went over it, his feet slipped out from underneath him. Luckily when he slipped, Tiffany jumped clear of him and was safe, but Tuco rolled two or three times over down the mountain. He wasn’t hurt bad. He had a few scratches and bruises but nothing serious, thank God! We once again regrouped at the top and continued up the trail. We thought we had it made because we were at the top and all we wanted to do was get down off of the mountain. So we followed the trail down off the other side. About two hundred yards or so down, the trail abruptly ended. So Dad and Bobbie had to ride back to the top and find where we had missed the right trail. While we were doing this Mona, Jackie, Teresa, and the others were huddled under a tree trying to get warm. Well, nevertheless, we finally made it down.

We some of the most beautiful country in the world this day, but paid a small price for it. The kids were all great and didn’t complain. We rode by Pentagon Mountain which is one of the highest mountain peaks in this region of the Rockies. We also could have went a little out of our way to see Trilobite Lakes, but we were all pretty tired as this was getting to be another long day in the saddle. (Dad, Mona and Bobbie have been to Trilobite Lakes before.) We made camp at Clack Creek and everyone was very happy because we were going to get to stay here for an extra day before we had to pack up and move along again. This is all familiar country to Dad, Mona and Bobbie.

Mona, Louis, J.J., Bobbie, and Evan in back row

We made a great camp and there was a lot of good horse feed. Everyone was glad and the horses and the dog too! By now the kids and rookies were getting the hang of the routine and we even had time to b—s—around the campfire before we all turned into bed. During the night Jackie heard some strange whistling and snorting noises along with some stomping. She tried to wake Bobbie up, but she wouldn’t wake up. So she finally woke Mona up to be scared with her. Finally the noises stopped and they went back to sleep.

Louis

Day Four. Most of us slept in. Dad had a fire and coffee going already. We picketed out the horses and everyone pretty much pitched in for breakfast. The sun was going to shine this day and it did. What a boost to our spirits. Everyone, even the kids took a bath in the creek. It was soooo cold, but felt so good after we were clean. We put on a pot of beans for chili. Dad took J.J., Even, and Misser fishing, while the girls stayed around camp to watch the horses and relax. While they were checking on some of the horses that were out of sight, they rode one of Bobbie’s horses J.J. back to camp. Tiffany was in front, Teresa behind her and Bobbie and Mona behind them. He was carrying all four of them. It was crazy fun! That was pretty much how the day went while they were waiting for the beans to cook. By the way, the Chili was great!!!

After the kids got through bickering about who was going to do the dishes, everyone sat around the camp fire enjoying themselves. Someone spotted a deer trying to sneak into camp. The deer was pretty close to us, and then Red spotted her and chased her away before anyone could get a decent picture of her. So much for all the wild game we wanted to see. The sunset this evening was glorious, magnificent, wonderful!! Guess you had to be there! Some of us wanted to tell ghost stories or we wanted to have Dad tell some old grizzly bear stories, but one of the kids didn’t want to hear anything scary. The kids, Jackie and Teresa went to bed a little early while Dad, Mona, and Bobbie stayed up around the fire a little longer. It was quite dark by this time and while they were sitting there two more deer snuck into camp. One was a buck for sure. Lucky Red was asleep. Finally everyone went to bed. (I guess Jackie didn’t hear any more crazy noises during the night!)

Day Five. Early, Early the next morning Bobbie heard a horse walking around. It was her horse J.J. he unties himself quite easily. So she got up and tied him up again. No more had she got back in bed when she and Mona heard that another horse was loose. This time it was Dad’s horse Pal. So they both got up because Pal can be a little hard to catch. But they grabbed a bucket and pretended they had grain and he wasn’t any trouble. They both crawled back in bed when they heard horse footsteps again, but this time only little ones. It was the colt. She decided she wanted to check out what the big blue thing everyone was sleeping under was. She nibbled at the tent over Bobbie and Jackie’s head and then started pawing at it. Bobbie couldn’t help but wake Jackie up and tease her that something was going to get her. She just laughed. By then almost everyone was awake and started crawling out of their sacks. Today we had to pack up and leave. We were headed to Strawberry Creek. The day was sunny and warm. It wasn’t to be too long of a ride to get there. We rode by Gooseberry Cabin and there were some stump sucker looking young people there. We just rode along, hardly acknowledging their presence. We weren’t rude or anything, we were minding our own business. As we were getting closer to Strawberry Creek Dad was showing us some of the places they used to hunt. He showed us Winter Ridges and other placed in that area too. It was just a matter of a couple of hours before we rode into Strawberry Creek camp. We stayed where Dad’s brother Dick used to have an outfitting business, but now belong to someone else. Mona showed Jackie how to make our mountain potato au grotten. (Slice the potatoes, let them simmer until tender, add onions and cubed summer sausage. Add Velveeta and just a little pancake mix to thicken.) Man o man is that delicious!!! Dad, Jackie and Bobbie were out checking on the picketed horses when they seen a helicopter flying a little ways to the north carry a big square crate. They were throwing ideas back and forth at each other about what it could be carrying. I believe it was Dad who mentioned that they turned the bears that were bad loose in this region of the mountains. Great! Try to get to sleep with that on your mind. Anyway, everyone had a lot of fun sitting around the fire, telling jokes and stories. We made s’mores and popcorn. Jackie had a few fables or rhymes she told that were pretty cool. Bobbie was telling everyone about an incident that occurred at her job, where she is a waitress. She was telling that that there was a table of four people who each in turn asked for smashed potatoes. Each time one of them asked her, she would tell them that they didn’t have any mashed potatoes. Well that was pretty much her story, it was somewhat funny, but Mister Man turned to ask her “Well did you have any potatoes?” THAT was funny!! Tiffany had a Napi story to tell everyone. Evan and J.J. had some jokes to share and wanted Bobbie to tell them the story about “If the log rolls over we will all be dead!” I’m sure Mona, Teresa, and Dad all had a joke too. Well everyone finally drifted off to bed, wishing it wasn’t the last night they had on their trip.

Day Six. We got our camp packed after we had some yummy “deer pellet pancakes”. While we were going down the trail everyone was having spear fights with the bear grass. We knew we didn’t have a long ride today either. When we got to the top of Badger Pass, we stopped and had a long lunch while we field glassed all around us. Dad was showing us where we had been and pointed out some of the places where they hunt. Some of us were snapping our last pictures of the trip. We talked about how amazed we were at, Maggie the 34 year old pony that Misser Man had ridden. She did excellent! Misser Man had rode her pretty hard the whole way around our trip, but I think she held up better than some of the younger horses. What a gal! We finally made it back to Swift Dan around 5:00. We were tired and worn a little thin, but most of us would have stayed another week or two if we could have. I know Dad would spend the whole summer back there if he could too!! But all the effort and work, all of the preparation and time, is more than worth it, for what the mountains give back to us !!!!

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome a few additions to the DeBoo family of Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Our two sons felt it was time for them to take on family responsibilities and married two wonderful, beautiful and intelligent ladies. On February 17, 2001 our oldest son Shawn Evan DeBoo maried Dana De'on Kennedy in Las Vegas, Nevada. Unfortunately I do not have any photos of their wedding. I welcome Dana and her son Daniel intro my home and my heart. As of this writing (September 2003) Shawn is 32 and Daniel is 9. We never tell the ladies ages (grin).

Genealogical Society of Flemish Americans

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