Bio - Oleson, Jack and Charlotte, Eagle County, Colorado By: Jean Winthers Jack and Charlotte Oleson Printed in the Vail Daily, Local's Corner, February 14, 2000 Charlotte and Jack Oleson's life together has covered more than fifty years of the last century and is going strong entering the new millennium. Their secret: "When it comes in one ear, it goes out the other," Charlotte said, and Jack added with a smile, "I'm a patient man." That sense of humor is part of the reason they were able to celebrate their fifty-first wedding anniversary recently, in the Eagle Valley where their grandparents homesteaded, and where they were both born and have lived all their lives. It is heartwarming, but not surprising to those who know the Olesons, that they have had such a successful marriage and lives. Charlotte Nottingham Oleson was one of two daughters born to Emmett and Myrtle Nottingham. Her older sister, Imogene, is married to life-long resident Frank Doll, and still lives not far from her sister in Avon. Other Nottingham aunts, uncles and cousins, descendants of Nancy Angeline Nottingham Hurd and William Edward Nottingham live in the valley, most around Avon, the site of the original homestead. Charlotte was born in Avon seventy years ago and attended the one- room school in Avon for eight years. That school stood south of the road near the Bevercreek Roundabout, and has since been torn down. Charlotte rode the bus to Gypsum to attend high school there for several years, then boarded with Jack's aunt and uncle, Wayne and Marie Kutz. Charlotte had known who Jack was before, but it was while staying at the Kutz home that she "officially" met and fell in love with Jack. "Jack was in the livestock business with his uncle when I found him," Charlotte said. Jack, five years older than Charlotte, meanwhile had been growing up on the ranch near Gypsum where he was born. His father Albert, had moved to the area with his parents, Sam and Betty Oleson, who had homesteaded there. Albert and Ione had three children, Jack, the oldest, and two girls. Jack is the only Oleson now living in the area. Jack attended Upper Gypsum grade school and later Gypsum high school. Years later Jack would buy the Upper Gypsum school and move it to Gypsum in order to preserve the historic one-room school, now used as the World of Life Worship Center. Another school he saved from destruction was the Squaw Creek school, still standing in the place it was built and serving as a picturesque rental. "I bought school houses to preserve them and because I like school houses," Jack said. Jack went into the service after he graduated high school in 1943, entering the Army Air Force. "The Air Force was part of the army back then," he said. Charlotte, meanwhile, graduated high school and went to beauty school school in Denver for a time. "I never went to work," she said. "Jack came along and we got married in 1948." The couple had a daughter, Charlynn, who grew up and married Danny Williams. The Williams' family live up Lake Creek and Jack and Charlotte's grandson, Jeffrey, is a pilot for Air West. Granddaughter Dana attends the University of Wyoming. Both grandchildren continued the family tradition of attending high school in Gypsum, although the Olesons were living in Sterling when daughter Charlynn was in high school. "Starting from scratch," Jack built up numerous ranches from the Eagle Valley to locations in Colorado, New Mexico, Canada and Idaho. His reputation as a cattleman and horseman eventually led him as far afield as Chile, Korea, Taiwan and Australia. As chairman of the board of TEXIM Corporation and owner of Oleson Ranches, Jack, and some other cattlemen, conceived a program to airlift cattle to countries that needed them. Under this program, funded by the government, cattle were flown to Chile and Taiwan, and Jack was in the midst of it all. "We built pens in an old army DC8 with bamboo, and loaded wild steers we bought in Hawaii, and flew to Taipei, Taiwan, with them," Jack said. "And those steers were wild. "I was supposed to go along and teach the people there how to rope and handle cattle, but I never got them to be cowboys.They eventually decided the feed was too expensive and killed the cattle, so I gave up and came home." Jack also traveled to the northern Territory in Australia to look into cattle ranching there, but decided it was "just too far away from everything. I came home and got busy with other things." While Jack was traveling around the world, and to his various ranches, Charlotte maintained the various homes, including the Avon home, for Jack, "keeping the bogey man out." The Olesons lived in various homes in the Avon area, including one on Meadow Mountain, where the Forest Service station is now. "It was the only time I ever tried skiing," Jack said. "All my nieces and nephews laughed at me so I quit that." Over thirty years ago they built a beautiful home just above where Mulligan's is now, overlooking Oleson ranch and farm land, with sweeping views downvalley. There was no town of Avon or anything else there then. Of all the land they owned, including much of the Eagle Valley between Vail and Gypsum, all that remains is five acres on the hillside surrounding the home. The house is filled with treasures of their life together, western collectibles, and beautiful art work. And plants. "We just collect everything," Charlotte said. Jack has a collection of early western mementos from the valley and elsewhere that is worthy of a museum, as well as mounted western animals and heads. At an age where most people at least think about retirement, Jack and Charlotte are busy with a new project. Jack is deeply involved in the Diamond S ranch near Eagle, where he puts his cattle and horsemanship experience to work, managing the cattle and the thoroughbred horses on the private horse ranch and "doing just about everything." Right now he spends most of his nights at the ranch barns, making sure the thoroughbred mares are foaling with no trouble. During the summer he is often riding the range, looking after the cattle in his charge. As for Charlotte, "I always keep busy. I did stop mowing the lawn when I got to be 70! But I'm happy with life. I can't think of too many things I'm sorry I didn't do. We are lucky. Jack and I have been close. Of course we have arguments and fights." "'Cause I can't hear," Jack said. "But we're a partnership," Charlotte concluded, as Jack smiled in agreement. =================================================== Contributed for use by the USGenWeb Archive Project (http://www.usgenweb.org) and by the COGenWeb Archive Project USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access.