STARR, MILTON

by Milton Starr

Entry F404 from the History of Hooker County Nebraska
with permission of the Hooker County Historical Society

Milton and Gladys Starr family. Eldon, Milton, Daryl, Erma, and Gladys

Elden Milton Starr was born near Elkhart,
Texas, Jan. 23, 1910 to parents Albert and
Lula Starr. He came to Nebr. at one year of
age as parents wanted a different way of life
than east Texas had to offer. Dad worked
during the summer of 1911 at his brother's
place about 8 miles north of Mullen, Nebr.
and decided to file on a homestead 23 miles
north and west of Mullen. It was fall before
things were in order to build a house. He had
to finish picking corn on the Hugh Boyer
farm where they lived and rode horse back to
the homestead to build the house. Some days
were very cold to work without heat. In time
a 24 by 24 house was finished which served
as a home for several years. Milton and an
older brother, Leonard, were the only chil-
dren at the time of moving into the new
house. Five more boys were born, 4 in this
home. I grew up here going to country schools
until high school. I went to high school in
Mullen, working for room and board. I milked
cows and delivered milk every morn and
night the greater part of the time of going to
school. Delivery was made with a spring
wagon and team of horses. I missed a lot of
school in the spring of 1928 in order to help
put in crops at home as we were farming a
sizable acreage. I graduated in May 1928. I
worked at home until 1936 when I married
the local school teacher. She taught the home
school in 1935 and 36. She was Gladys Mae
Warden, daughter of the late Jerry and
Rosalie Warden. We moved into the kinkaid
house of Lorena Bush Isom. While living
there I farmed a sizable acreage until the
spring of 1938 when we moved to a ranch 28
miles North west of Stapleton, Nebr. which
belonged to Theodore Folk. This had a new
set of buildings, built 6 yrs. prior to our
moving there. The building site being in the
northeast corner of McPherson Co. Nebr. Mr.
Folk added acreage to the ranch along until
he thought the price was getting too high.
After renting for 10 yrs. Mr. Folk decided he
wanted to sell as the price on land was high
enough. He could sell it for 4 times what it
cost him. As land joining became available we
were able to put together a ranch of 21
sections which was about equal in acreage in
3 counties, McPherson, Logan and Thomas.

At the time of moving to the ranch, we had
a daughter, Erma Lee, born 1936.
Two boys were added to the family, Daryl
Gay born 1941 and Eldon Roy born
1945. Erma and Daryl boarded in
Stapleton and attended high school graduat-
ing there. Erma Lee was valedictorian of her
class. Eldon attended the Tryon, Nebr. high
school, graduating from there. All 3 graduat-
ed from college. Erma Lee from Colorado
State Uni. at Ft. Collins, Colo. and the boys
from the Uni. of Nebr. at Lincoln, Nebr.
Erma Lee taught school for 22 yrs, all but one
in the state of Calif. She now owns and
operates an Art Gallery in Portland, Oregon.
She has 2 children, a boy and a girl. The boy,
Bruce Summers, is married and lives in
Portland. He and his wife Barbara work in
the Art Gallery. The daughter, LeeAnn i
married and lives in Irvine, Calif. She is Color
Consultant and her husband is a broker. Bob
and LeeAnn Bernardo have a son born
1987, our first great grand child.

Upon graduating from college, Daryl
married Doris Smith from Stuart, Nebr. He
spent 2 years of active duty in the navy. They
returned to Nebr. and are in the ranching
business. They just recently purchased the
late C.N. Boyer ranch. They have 3 children,
aboy and 2 girls. Bryan and Valerie attended
college at the Univ. of Neb. at Lincoln. Ryan
graduated from college in May 1987 and
Valerie graduated Dec. 19, 1987 with a
Masters degree in Food Science. She married
Alan Haack June 21, 1986.

Brenda rides the school bus and also drives
to school in Mullen.

Eldon married Katherine Stewart of Lin-
coln. Kathy was a secretary at the State
Capitol. They have 3 children, 2 boys and a
girl, Scott, Tonya and Kevin. Scott and
Tonya attend high school in Tryon and Kevin
attends Peaceful Plains school in southern
Thomas County. When we moved to South
Dak. we turned the home ranch over to Eldon
and Kathy. Their operations include selling
club calves and registered bulls, along with
the commercial cattle. They just recently
bought several sections of land and built a
new house. Both boys have been awarded the
outstanding Farmer-Rancher of the year
award.

During the 1950's I sold a lot of club calves
along with showing calves in Chicago, Ill., also
went back to Ind. to a feeder of my cattle and
fitted and showed car load lots of hereford
steers at the International Livestock Show in
Chicago, gaining the reputation among the
show people of having some of the best feeder
cattle in the U.S. It would have been nice to
have continued in the show business but on
Jan 25, 1965 I had a serious accident. I got my
left arm wrapped around the shaft of a
grinder. The arm was badly mangled and the
doctor only gave a 50-50 chance of saving it.
I spent a lot of time in the hospital in North
Platte, Nebr. and Denver, Colo. Under went
several operations by a bone specialist in
Denver. In time I was able to work and do
about anything that a normal person does.

During my operation of the ranch I promo-
ted building 18 miles of a 2 lane oil road from
Ringgold, Nebr. to the Thomas Co. Line.
Most of this was done from donations. I also
helped to promote other community improv-
ements, such as a church and telephone line.
I have done some investing in ranches and
then sold them. The last ranch was located
in South Dak. and was said, to have been one
of the best in the state. It consisted of about
50,000 acres of which more than half was
deeded. We operated it for 5 years when we
sold it and moved to Mullen in 1972 to retire.

Since moving to Mullen, I have done
unlimited volunteer work which includes
years of EMT, ambulance service, chaired the
hospital board and also, the Sandhills Devel-
opment Corporation. I have done some land
appraisals.

We have traveled extensively, being in 48
of the 50 states and over seas to Holland,
Greece, Egypt, Italy, Iseral, Lebonan, Cyprus
and Switzerland and also Canada and Mexi-
co.

Upon retiring, we built a new Miami Stone
house north of the grade school, on the road
going north of town. We celebrated our 50th
wedding anniversary in 1986.