And the West is History: Campbell family on sled – ca. 1917

Ruby Campbell and her children, from left, Charles, Irma and Isabella, are pictured at their residence at 135 E. 14th Street. They are posed on their wooden sled in wintertime Durango around 1917. Farm animals, like the domestic sheep seen here, were commonly found within the city limits. Ruby was the daughter of early La Plata County pioneer and blacksmith Charles Naegelin. Her mother died at the age of only 40 in 1903. Sixteen-year-old Ruby took over care of her 2-year-old sister Clara and kept house for her father until his death in 1934. She and her three children lived at the family home while her husband maintained his position as a District Fish & Game Warden from his office in Alamosa. Like her mother, Ruby died relatively young. She died in 1939 at age 53. Newspaper accounts described her as a loyal and devoted daughter, mother and wife who brightened the corner where she lived, leaving a void upon her passing. Today, the Auto Zone store at the corner of Main Avenue and 14th Street is located near where this photo was taken. Color has been added for clarity. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum.org (Catalog Number: 04.10.125 from the La Plata County Historical Society Photo Collections, colorized)