Lola Jane Grice
Lola Jane Grice, much-loved daughter of Josephine & John Grice.
John Grice was born in Illinois in 1896, the youngest of eight children born to James & Cynthia Grice. His mother died when he was quite young and he was raised by older sisters.
At fourteen years of age the call of the west found him in Nebraska, driving a “bull” team from Ogalalla to Deadwood, where he spent his early youth and was acquainted with many “characters” of that mining town. The Spearfish Mail wrote upon his marriage to his first wife, “…the groom is more familiarly known as ‘Shakey Johnnie’ and was a resident of Spearfish for a number of years…” so he must have been a “character” in his own right! He engaged in the stock business, owning a ranch near Sundance in 1899 when he married for the first time, to Theresa Turnquist, also of Sundance. They had no children and Theresa died in 1907 at the age of 36.
Josephine was John’s second wife, born in Montreal, Canada in 1880 to John and Josephine Caldwell. Her father was of Irish stock, her mother the daughter of a Parisian teacher. The family moved to Deadwood by train in 1886 and later homesteaded in Crook County on Redwater east of Sundance. The family traveled to the homestead via “4 in-hand” – four horses pulling the stagecoach – Josephine remembered riding on top if the coach with the luggage to make room for the smaller children. The children attended rural school having to learn the English language since they spoke French. Josephine learned the dressmaking trade, a skill she continued to use all her life. She took out a homestead on the upper Redwater some distance from her parents.
John & Josephine were married in 1910 in Belle Fourche. They had 3 daughters – Lola Jane, Theresa & Darlene. By then John operated a hardware store in Sundance with his partner Herbert Gage, known as Grice and Gage. Later he bought out his partner and established the John Grice Hardware and Lumber, which became Petersen Lumber & Grain – lastly home to Country Cottage/Subway and the Treasure Chest. In the 1920s their lumbermill upstairs became the social center of the area for Saturday night dances, with folks from northeastern Wyoming and western South Dakota flocking to the gatherings. The Ren Gardner orchestra and other popular bands furnished music and the dances lasted until the wee hours. John & Josephine saw the potential of tourism and built the East Side Cabin Camp in 1930, where the Newcastle highway (585) meets Highway 16 (Cleveland). John operated the lumber and hardware business until 1945 when he retired and assisted with the camp. It was operated and built up to sixteen cabins by the time Josephine sold it to George Richards in 1954, 2 years after John’s death.
Little Lola suffered from rheumatism, evidently to a great degree … finally her parents determined to take her to Thermopolis for treatment in the hot springs and she and her mother headed west by train (Train #43). Sometime during the journey, Lola passed away, her heart weakened by her affliction … her mother left the train in Sheridan with little Lola and they returned home on Train #44, by train to Upton, then home to Sundance.
Lola Jane Grice, much-loved daughter of Josephine & John Grice.
John Grice was born in Illinois in 1896, the youngest of eight children born to James & Cynthia Grice. His mother died when he was quite young and he was raised by older sisters.
At fourteen years of age the call of the west found him in Nebraska, driving a “bull” team from Ogalalla to Deadwood, where he spent his early youth and was acquainted with many “characters” of that mining town. The Spearfish Mail wrote upon his marriage to his first wife, “…the groom is more familiarly known as ‘Shakey Johnnie’ and was a resident of Spearfish for a number of years…” so he must have been a “character” in his own right! He engaged in the stock business, owning a ranch near Sundance in 1899 when he married for the first time, to Theresa Turnquist, also of Sundance. They had no children and Theresa died in 1907 at the age of 36.
Josephine was John’s second wife, born in Montreal, Canada in 1880 to John and Josephine Caldwell. Her father was of Irish stock, her mother the daughter of a Parisian teacher. The family moved to Deadwood by train in 1886 and later homesteaded in Crook County on Redwater east of Sundance. The family traveled to the homestead via “4 in-hand” – four horses pulling the stagecoach – Josephine remembered riding on top if the coach with the luggage to make room for the smaller children. The children attended rural school having to learn the English language since they spoke French. Josephine learned the dressmaking trade, a skill she continued to use all her life. She took out a homestead on the upper Redwater some distance from her parents.
John & Josephine were married in 1910 in Belle Fourche. They had 3 daughters – Lola Jane, Theresa & Darlene. By then John operated a hardware store in Sundance with his partner Herbert Gage, known as Grice and Gage. Later he bought out his partner and established the John Grice Hardware and Lumber, which became Petersen Lumber & Grain – lastly home to Country Cottage/Subway and the Treasure Chest. In the 1920s their lumbermill upstairs became the social center of the area for Saturday night dances, with folks from northeastern Wyoming and western South Dakota flocking to the gatherings. The Ren Gardner orchestra and other popular bands furnished music and the dances lasted until the wee hours. John & Josephine saw the potential of tourism and built the East Side Cabin Camp in 1930, where the Newcastle highway (585) meets Highway 16 (Cleveland). John operated the lumber and hardware business until 1945 when he retired and assisted with the camp. It was operated and built up to sixteen cabins by the time Josephine sold it to George Richards in 1954, 2 years after John’s death.
Little Lola suffered from rheumatism, evidently to a great degree … finally her parents determined to take her to Thermopolis for treatment in the hot springs and she and her mother headed west by train (Train #43). Sometime during the journey, Lola passed away, her heart weakened by her affliction … her mother left the train in Sheridan with little Lola and they returned home on Train #44, by train to Upton, then home to Sundance.