Highland Village, Gunnison

When we moved to Gunnison to finish school, we lived in Highland Village. These cabins were moved from a mining town nearby, so there wasn't any luxury built in. We found a "Warm Morning" coal heater which we hooked up and ordered a ton of coal. This was fine for the fall quarter. The weather was beautiful--Then the Gunnison Winter storms moved in. I had to keep the stove red hot most of the time in order to keep us warm. The bathroom was at least fifty yards away. It was heated with the steam generated from the central steam plant at the bottom of the hill. This winter was to test our ability to make the marriage work. Wanda Hung in there--God bless her, and we made it. We had no car so had to walk down town for the groceries. You had better have ear muffs on, or your ears would freeze. You have no idea how cold 40 below zero can be until you have lived through it. Some of the cabins nearer the main building were steam heated--They had it made. In recent years on a trip to Gunnison, I picked out the spot where our cabin was--It is a nice green lawn. The first year I lived with a group of boys in the cabin just in back of the main building. We would stay in bed until the first class bell rang--Jump up and get dressed, and made it to class just in time. My mother went to the Normal school to be a teacher in Taylor Hall. Wanda and I both graduated there, and Pat spent four years for his degree there, then Heather, Pat's daughter, went a quarter there, so that's four generations at Western. I did lots of skiing my first and second years. they had a chair lift on the Cement Creek Ski run. After I got married, I didn't ski any more.(I wonder why?)