Return to the Sea By Jim Potter Robert Parks' last day of work as a brakeman on the Colorado and Wyoming Railway at Sunrise, Wyoming, was December 26, 1922. Two and a half months later, on March 13, 1926, he was issued a 640-acre Homestad Entry-Stock Raising Claim, as a result of his three-year residency and grazing improvements. It was located in Platte County, about four miles north and twelve miles west of Sunrise. I caught up with Robert in 1924. He resurfaced at sea, working as … [Read more...] about Researching Robert
Sunrise Mine
Researching Robert
Sunrise Mine by Jim Potter Robert Parks left McPherson County, Kansas, sometime after the US Census in January 1920. In May, he was hired to work in the mining camp—or company town—of Sunrise, in Platte County, located in the high desert foothills of eastern Wyoming. Sunrise's population exceeded five hundred people. The iron ore mine and its town were founded in 1899 and owned by Colorado Fuel and Iron Company (CF&I), which was owned by John D. Rockefeller Sr., one of the … [Read more...] about Researching Robert
Researching Robert
Home at Last by Jim Potter Robert Parks was honorably discharged from the US Navy in 1919 just in time to enjoy Christmas with his parents, Henry and Lydia Parks, living in McPherson County, Kansas. Fighting in the World War was over for more than a year when Robert was discharged. His extended service time was due to the monumental operation of clearing tens of thousands of mines in the North Sea between Scotland and Norway, while assigned to the USS Heron (AM-10), a minesweeper … [Read more...] about Researching Robert
