Oral history interview with Elizabeth "Bette" Saunders, 1992-1993

Item

Identifier: DCL1993.003

Staff Only

Abstract

In this 3 part interview, Bette Saunders describes her memories of growing up and living in Douglas County, Colorado. Highlights of the different interview segments are: Part 1: Bette talks about her parents' families, the Gilberts and the Noyes, and early memories of growing up as a child,attending school (Cherry School and later high school in Castle Rock), and her experiences up until the end of World War II. Part 2: Bette continues her family's history, and also provides a view of what the town of Castle Rock looked like in the 1930s-40s, as well as her memories of the 1965 flood. Part 3: She continues to describe early memories of growing up in Dougas County, e.g. attending cultural events and the Castle Rock star lighting event, and witnessing the Douglas County Courthouse fire of 1978, the blizzard of 1946, and the cyclone of 1937.

Dates

1992-1993

Conditions Governing Access

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Biographical / Historical

Elizabeth "Bette" Saunders was born Sylvia Elizabeth Gilbert to David Newton and Altha Theodora Irene (Noyes) Gilbert. She was raised on her parents' ranch in the Cherry Valley area of southeastern Douglas County, and later moved with her family to Castle Rock. She married Ben Saunders in 1945, and was a lifetime member of the Castle Rock Museum Historical Society. Prior to her death in 2004, she was regarded as a local historian in the Castle Rock area.