Pikes Peak or Bust!

1939 saw Gladys Collins, now Glady Schnars, beginning her journey of married life with her husband Oscar. She packed up and left Kansas at the end of 1938 and traveled West to Colorado.

Colorado Springs is where Gladys and Oscar first settle. From her entries, it sounds like they are living with Oscar’s parents or figures they refer to with parental monikers. Gladys seems to be enjoying life as a wife and appears to prefer the chores of housemaking to those of living on a farm.

Gladys and Oscar maintain a lively social life and have a large circle of acquaintances and friends. Notably, Vera Foster who gave Gladys her very first diary those years ago, is living in Colorado Springs as well. Gladys maintains her correspondence with her family and friends back in Kansas and doesn’t seem to struggle with feeling homesick.

Oscar makes his living working in his shop repairing different items, making furniture, and doing general handyman tasks for his community. Gladys notes at different times the struggle for Oscar to find a job. Despite having a useful skill set, times were tough and steady work seemed to be a constant struggle for Oscar.

In her diary for this year, Gladys mentions several times that she and Oscar were interested in getting a house of their own. In the fall of 1939, Oscar and Gladys moved into the basement apartment of her Uncle Ira’s place in Idledale. Idledale is just to the west of Denver and near the famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre. This was a temporary arrangement to help them while they worked in the nearby area. After work was finished, they returned to Colorado Springs and to their relative’s home.

Overall 1939 seemed to be a year of learning for Gladys. The transition from life as a young single woman in Kansas on her family farm to living in a city with a husband in Colorado must have been exciting but also overwhelming at times. Gladys seems to take it all in stride and does her best to be a good wife and keep Oscar happy. She supports him when he goes to get his Driver’s License, she helps him from time to time in the shop, and she gives comfort when Dad Lawrence (unsure of exact relation but likely a father figure) passes away towards the end of the year. Grief and the struggle of financial security in the midst of Colorado winter weigh heavily on Gladys as 1939 comes to a close.