b'Stanley had the chance to experience the life that many young boys and girls in the 1930s only fantasized about, he became a true cowboy.L iving on Orme Ranch waspresent Orme campus. Stanley recallsranch and their children were in the like a dream, reminiscedthat the Horsecollar Theater wasschool, as was the cooks son. We Stanley Knowlton, nowonce a working hay barn with feedingwere a very mixed group of kids. The 98 years old. Stanley, whotroughs on the outside. Todays muse- teacher would devote about an hour had severe asthma as a child, wasum and guest house was the originalto each grade and then we were given just nine when he became part of theranch house where the Orme familyhomework to do. Because I listened Orme family in 1934. Along with Joanlived and where everyone gatheredto her teaching the other grades, I was Atterbury, and Dick Jessup, Stanleyfor meals. The cowboy bunk houseable to learn more advanced material.was one of the original children sentwas where Stanley attended school.In the 1930s, life at Orme revolved from Long Island, New York, to theIt was a one-room schoolhouse witharound the ranchs daily activities and high desert of Orme Ranch for healthold-fashioned desks that had beenthe close-knit community it fostered. reasons. The addition of these childrentaken from an abandoned schoolThe ranch served as a working cattle to the Ranch led, eventually, to theabout 30 miles away. The desks andranch and truck farm, with regular trips creation of the Orme Boarding School. the seats were one piece. There wasto Phoenix to transport produce and Stanleys journey to Orme beganan inkwell on the desktop, and youbeef. Stanley remembered the arduous with a three-day cross-country trainopened the lid of the desk to storejourney, which took approximately ride with his parents. Sharing hisyour school materials inside. four hours, noting that inclement fascinating memories of life at Orme,There must have been 12 of us inweather could hinder travel across he vividly described the scenic views,the school; from different grammarBlack Canyon Road. On one occasion stops at Harvey Houses along the way,school grades. The state provided athe composer and songwriter Cole and first meeting Native Americansteacher, a young woman who wasPorter visited Orme. He rented a selling their wares in Albuquerque. Thegiven room and board on the ranch,Model A in Phoenix and Uncle Chick train journey brought this young boyStanley explained. Katie Orme and Iallowed Stanley to drive back with closer to the mythic landscapes of thewere in one class and then there wereMr. Porter because he knew the way American West. a couple of older boys who were justto the ranch. It had been raining. There are a few buildings from theabout to go off to high school. ThereStanley remembers, and when wewas a Mexican family working at thegot about halfway up Black Canyon early days that have survived into the Road the river was running pretty high. Mr. Porter asked me, Stanley, do you think we can get across? I told him I thought we could because we got across in the truck on the way down IN THE 1930s, LIFE AT ORME REVOLVEDto Phoenix. Mr. Porter drove the Model AROUND THE RANCHS DAILY ACTIVITIES ANDA into the creek. A big boulder came rolling down under the water and it THE CLOSE-KNIT COMMUNITY IT FOSTERED. hit the bottom of the Model A. There was a crunching noise and the car stopped. We climbed out and went across the creek where there was an 49 THE ORME BULLETIN'