Steve roberts recollections
"Horace [Mason] was so quiet, especially compared to Lucy, that I think in a lot of ways we didn't know the real Horace. His sense of humor was definitely there, but didn't have a chance to come out with all of the cacophony around the house. One lady in Walden who ran a laundromat/gas station, Iris Blevins, told me years ago that when Horace was running the grocery store across the street from her one of the women in town that thought she was very sophisticated went into the store and asked Horace for a beef heart. He went off to get it, and came back with a can of beans. She said 'No, I said a Beef Heart!' Horace replied 'Oh, I thought you said Big Fart,' and the snooty lady stomped out all the way home with everyone in ear-shot laughing." - Steve Roberts (March, 2013)
"Horace told me once that they bought a herd of Mexican cattle cheap and took them to the Owl Creek ranch. They thought they would make a big profit on the deal. As it turned out, though, these cattle had hoof and mouth disease and the whole lot of them had to be destroyed. I think he said that this pretty much spelled the end of the Owl Creek venture." - Steve Roberts (March, 2013)
"The Denver Public Library has a list of place names by county, and it listed the town of Gould, CO which is a mile or two east of the Owl Creek place. It said that the town was at one time called Mason. Not sure it was because of the Mason Bros that lived nearby, but could be." - Steve Roberts (March, 2013)
"Looking at the Owl Creek pictures got me thinking of a story that Florence Mason Little told me once when I was in Chicago, probably at Jane Marshall's house. She was at the Owl Creek ranch visiting her brothers one time, and went horse-back riding. The horse she was riding spooked, and took off running with her in the saddle. Horace jumped on a horse and raced to catch-up. When he did, he grabbed the reins and stopped the run-away horse. She described the scene as just like you would expect to see in a movie western." - Steve Roberts (May, 2013)
"One of the vivid memories that I have of Horace [Mason] is as a little kid inside the little pantry off the side of the kitchen in Walden. That was always a fascinating place for kids, because there were usually cookies or home made cinnamon rolls to find, and playing with all of the old kitchen equipment was fun.
"We always thought of Horace as the strong silent type, and of Lucy as the conversationalist. That is an understatement of both of their personalities. Horace liked his peace and quiet, and Lucy loved the noise and bustle of a social life. We also knew them as teetotalers. Lucy was probably more of a Temperance Unionist in her views of alcohol.
"Anyway, this one time there was a lot of commotion going on in the house and I remember looking up from the floor of the pantry when Horace walks in, takes a bottle of cooking sherry off the shelf, opens the bottle, takes a long swig, caps the bottle, puts it back and walks out, all without a word. That always said a lot to me about the difference between appearances and reality." - Steve Roberts (May, 2013)
"We always thought of Horace as the strong silent type, and of Lucy as the conversationalist. That is an understatement of both of their personalities. Horace liked his peace and quiet, and Lucy loved the noise and bustle of a social life. We also knew them as teetotalers. Lucy was probably more of a Temperance Unionist in her views of alcohol.
"Anyway, this one time there was a lot of commotion going on in the house and I remember looking up from the floor of the pantry when Horace walks in, takes a bottle of cooking sherry off the shelf, opens the bottle, takes a long swig, caps the bottle, puts it back and walks out, all without a word. That always said a lot to me about the difference between appearances and reality." - Steve Roberts (May, 2013)