Newell’s first home was in Holly CO. The population of around 1,000 goes up and down a bit, but hasn’t changed much in many decades. He’s sporting a Colorado cap given him by a nice lady at the hospitality center and his Virginia Tech polo shirt (…later)
This is the location of his Grandma’s house which was destroyed by a tornado after Newell and Tim’s last visit to Holly a few years ago. The McMurtrys had a cattle ranch a few miles out of town. Grandma Mac and family lived in town; she taught business at the high school.
We stopped to pay our respects at the local cemetery. Newell’s grandfather and others were buried together in the family plot. Since Newell had always wanted to be buried near his family in Holly, we were fortunate on the day we were there, to meet the cemetery superintendent. Of the five graveyards he manages, he happened to be on the property that day, Newell spoke with him and reserved the plot adjacent to his grandfather.
The Santa Fe trail abuts the Holly Cemetery. Ruts from wagon wheels are still visible.
The McMurtry Building in downtown Holly. Built from locally hewn sandstone, it still stands in the center of town. Originally it was a bank, then land office. It is currently used as the town recreation center.
After dodging tornadoes, we arrived safely at the home of (Auntie) Em and Tim. They were very gracious hosts and it was wonderful to spend time with the newlyweds. They were married on our anniversary in February 🙂 Tim is in the U.S. Army and Ems is working on her teaching credential – she wants to teach Kindergarten – lucky kids!