A Tribute to Grandpa Bowen

Aaron and I just returned from Colorado yesterday. I can't say it was a fun trip because we had to attend the funeral of his grandpa. He had a stroke last year and was in and out of the hospital until he died.

There's a weird thing about July 5th with that family. Grandpa Buster's sister died on July 5th (not sure what year). Grandpa Buster's son, Greg, died on July 5th, 1970. Grandpa Buster died on July 5th at 11:45 pm. Aaron's birthday is July 5th.

Grandpa Buster was a funny man. He always had stories to tell and it always seemed like something funny was happening to him on his ranch!! They told a story how he fell in a hole -- upside down -- and just his boots were sticking out. Roy (Aaron's dad) found him and pulled him out!

Grandpa Buster could tell the "Flying Cat" & "La Wee Wee" stories like nobody else. We were all sitting around the table on Sunday trying to remember how it went and trying to tell it like he did. We were successful in figuring out how the story went eventually, but I know we were all thinking that we could never tell it as good as he could.

Grandpa Buster served in World War II and his plane was shot down somewhere over Japan (I think). On display was the shirt that he was wearing the day his plane was shot down. Grandpa Buster was hit with scrapnel (sp?) in his left shoulder. You could see where it tore the shirt and they said he had scars there. On display was also his purple heart that he earned for that flight. There was another medal there, but I can't seem to remember what it was.

In some papers, we found that he was flying the day that we dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. His papers told him to fly 50 miles outside Hiroshima that day. 50 miles. . . can you imagine being in the air just 50 miles away from that atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima? Talk about witnessing history!! On the other hand, 50 miles doesn't seem like very far when you're talking about an atomic bomb!!

During the funeral, they had an open mic where people could tell stories on Grandpa. Aaron told the story about the "call to breakfast". Grandpa would knock on your door about 6 am and say, "First call to breakfast." He would come back about 10 minutes later and say "Second call to breakfast." Another 10 minutes would pass and he would say, "Last call to breakfast." As he got older, he would just say, "First call to breakfast. Last call to breakfast!"

Then, as we sat around the breakfast table, Grandma Frances would read a devotional and Grandpa Buster would pray over our breakfast. Nate (one of the grandsons) said that of all the things he learned from Grandpa, his faith in God was what would continue to pass on down. That is the truth and it is very evident.

I only knew Grandpa Buster as a rancher and a great rancher he was!! You could tell that he liked working the cows and fixing the fences. I learned how to fix a fence from Grandpa Bowen. I think it was my first time to the ranch. I thought I would just go watch, but before long, they had me digging holes with the post hole diggers!! =)

While we were there, we also got to look at some artifacts that had been found on Grandpa Buster's land. Sand Creek runs right through his property and we believe that The Battle of Sand Creek was fought on his land. The government has recently purchased the land next to Buster's and they claim it happened there, but the artifacts speak for themselves. It was neat to see buttons from war shirts and women's dresses. There were rings and kettles. There were spurs and horseshoes. There were cannon balls and bullet shells!! All of these things found on the Bowen Ranch down on Sand Creek.

As I sit here, I'm thinking about how much Grandpa Buster was a part of history. On his land, history took place with the Battle of Sand Creek. Grandpa Buster watched history play out before his eyes in WWII. And, Grandpa Buster made history with all of his family. I know that Grandpa Buster's history will long live on and stories will continue to be told about him.

I hate that we didn't spend more time at the ranch. I hate that I thought the drive was too long with 2 kids. I am thankful, though, that Payton has memories of Grandpa Buster and the ranch. My prayer is this: God, please don't let me be too busy to spend time with history makers!!