There was nothing for the buckboard occupants to worry about–nothing more serious than planning what they would do at the fair. Ginger had never attended a County Fair and must be prepared in detail for the delights she would find when she arrived.
“But this isn’t the kind of place I expected Fort Collins to be,” she exclaimed in dismay as they trotted down a pretty, shaded street at ten o’ clock. “I don’t see a single drugstore Indian or hitching post and there’s not a rough-riding cowboy in sight. Just nice houses and automobiles.”
“Why, this is a thriving town,” Vance told her proudly. “It even has quite a few paved streets.”
“Heck, I can see pavement in Los Angeles,” Ginger answered. “I want atmosphere.”
“Cheer up, you’ll get plenty of that at the fair.” –Back to Buckeye, Esther Greenacre Hall, 1934
Author Esther Greenacre Hall was the daughter of Allen Greenacre, a promising politician in Fort Collins and rancher in Buckeye, about 20 miles north. But he died young from a disease that slowly paralyzed him. Maybe ALS? Esther was a teenager at the time. She and her mother moved to Greeley soon after.
As an adult, Hall wrote several books for teenage girls, most around a character named Holly Daggett. In this installment, Holly comes home from California to help her brother run the ranch. While here, she endures the same challenges we all still face: Flood, draught, irrigation troubles, and a perky friend from Los Angeles who thinks we’re a bunch of hicks.
You can still find this book from used bookstores online. (I use Abebooks.com)
Was Allen Greenacre related to the Doris and Jim Greenacre family? Doris and Jim Greenacre have both passed on now but their family goes back several generations in Ft. Collins.
Jim Burrill
Jim, As I recall, there were four Greenacre brothers who owned the Buckeye ranch. And I think Jim was descended from one of them.
But I read about it a very long time ago and could have the whole thing wrong.